Whisper in the Wind
by pokemon-finatic
Summary: Sophie always got in the way. He didn't need help finding the Lake Pokemon, that's why he was given this mission! Then again, something about that May girl...ever since he'd met her...was his memory...returning? Conetstshipping! and a bit of pokeshipping
1. Stolen and Forgotten

**A/N: **So, here it is! My latest fic, and Contest Shippy!! Yay!! This has nothing to do with Red Eyed Evil, I need to get this one out of my head before I can think clearly about the sequel...sorry...but I promise this story will be good too, and the sequel WILL come for REE. Here's chapter 1...HAPPY READING!!

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**Chapter One:**_** Stolen and Forgotten**_

It was midnight. All was quiet and dark in Sunyshore City. The streetlamps lit up the now-deserted road. The only way anyone could have known about the boy and his pokemon was if they had looked up to the roof of the pokemart.

He was waiting, his eyes squinted as the door to the building across the street revealed the light inside. As the man walking out turned it off and shut the door, the boy's pokemon readied itself for its pounce. The man turned to lock the door and the boy's pokemon pounced. It landed square on the man's back. The man cried out in surprise as the boy leaped to the ground. The pokemon jumped away and before the man knew he was there, the boy had struck his head. The man collapsed, unconscious.

The boy smirked. He opened the unlocked door and the light flowed through and reflected off of his emerald eyes. The pokemon walked into the light and looked up at its partner.

"Good," the boy said "we're in."

* * *

"So, _this _is Sinnoh? It's amazing!" May cried.

"Yeah, isn't it?" Her brother, Max, was right next to her. May and Max had never been to Sinnoh, but their friends Ash and Brock had. It was here that the two had met Dawn, and a few years later they decided to bring along their other friends for a bit of a reunion. Their friend Misty was also along, but Tracy hadn't been able to leave Professor Oak's side.

"That mountain must be tall enough to touch the sky!" Max exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Don't be ridiculous, Max. Nothing can touch the sky, it's not solid." May corrected him.

"I know that, May!" Max pouted "It was an expression!"

"Well, I've never heard it!"

"I made it up!"

"You can't make up expressions, Max."

"Yes you can, May."

"No you can't, Max."

"Yes you can, May."

"No you can't, _Max_!" It was at this point in the siblings' quarrel that Ash ran over to them.

"Look!" He exclaimed "The ship's tied to the dock, we can leave now."

"Yay! Land!" May cried as she rushed toward the stairs. Max shook his head as he and Ash followed his sister. They caught up to her where she had stopped with Brock and Misty on the dock, apparently waiting for them. But their was another reason they had stopped. In front of the five friends (as well as Ash's pikachu who had been with Misty) was a huge crowd.

"See those flashing lights? Something bad has happened." Brock whispered to Ash and Max.

"Bad? Like...what?" Max asked.

"We don't know yet. Something bad enough to do with the police." Misty said.

"Did someone die?" Ash asked.

"Ash, I just said _we don't know_." Misty said in a very irritated voice.

"Oh, sorry." Ash said.

"Let's move on to the pokemon center, I'm sure Nurse Joy will know what's going on." May suggested.

"Sounds good to me...Brock?" Misty added.

"Yeah, let's go." Brock said. The five walked away from the crowd and down the street, passing the close by pokemart.

* * *

A girl waited calmly for him. Her eyes were bright blue and her hair was wavy and blond. She wore an orange shirt with a big letter "A" on it and jeans. She stared at her feet which wore green flip-flops. From afar, she seemed like an average teenage girl. And maybe she was, but you could never be too sure.

When she finally caught sight of him, she jumped off the stone bench she had been sitting on and smiled.

"Hey, Rat! You're S-L-O-W!" She teased.

"No, Thorn, you're simply I-M-P-A-T-I-E-N-T!" He called back. Thorn smirked.

"I'm not impatient, you can never be impatient if you live at the Academy, Rat." she stated.

"Fine, you win that one." Rat was now walking next to his friend. His Riolu trailed behind them. Thorn and Rat had been the best of friends since Rat had come to the Academy. They both shared a common misfortune, each had mysteriously lost their memories of their past before they had woken up in the Academy's hospital wing. Each could only remember the last word they'd heard before they had woken. And each had chosen that word as their name.

"So, what did he say?" Thorn asked, Rat simply smirked. "Oh, come on, Rat, what did he _say_?"

"I can't tell you." Rat said.

"Why not?"

"It's top secret." Rat laughed.

"Come _ON_!" Thorn pouted.

"No, seriously," Rat said "I can't tell you, honestly."

"...What's the cover-up then?" Thorn asked. Rat was silent. "Rat, I'm not stupid. There's ALWAYS a cover-up!"

"Fine. I'm going on a trip to other towns to see which would be most likely to help in the next project."

"The lakes!" Thorn cried. She hopped in front of Rat to stop him from getting ahead of her. "You're going to the three lakes!"

"What interest would Noir have in the lakes?" Rat asked, but his smile gave it away.

"AHA! I knew it! Noir's had his beady little eyes on those giant puddles for years! I just _knew_ he couldn't stand it any longer!" Thorn cried. Rat listened to his friend rant on all the different things one could do with the lakes, simply remaining silent.

* * *

"WHAT!?" Ash cried.

"That poor man." Misty said.

"He's ok, right Nurse Joy?" May asked.

"Of coarse, he's at the hospital now. And it's nothing serious, but the reason the police are still there is because of what was stolen. They've been searching for days now and still haven't found a trace that anyone was there after the man was knocked out." Joy said.

"What was stolen?" Max asked.

"Some rare Pokeball Seals that had just been put on sale." Joy said.

"Pokeball Seals? Who would want to steal Pokeball Seals?" Ash asked.

"Well, that's exactly what the police would like to know." Joy answered.

"But why do all this for a bunch of seals?" May asked.

"Some people are just...bad." Brock said.

"Yes, some people are just..." But the Nurse was cut off when the front door opened and a young girl wearing a white jumper came bursting in. She stopped to catch her breathe and her straight, light brown hair hung in front of her face. When she stood up right, her hazel eyes looked worried.

"Nurse Joy, I heard what happened, and I came to see if the pokemon are alright. It was so close to the center and I had to check..."

"Nobody was here last night, Sophie. Except for myself and the trainers staying here." At Nurse Joy's words, the girl seemed pleased.

"That's a relief!" She exclaimed. She then added "Thorn and Rat told me, and they're usually right about these things, so i had to make sure everyone was ok."

"We certainly are." Then Nurse Joy turned to the friends behind her. "Everyone, this is Sophie. She helps me take care of the pokemon here at the center whenever she can. Sophie, this is Ash, Misty, Brock, May, and Max. They're staying here for a few days and will soon be on the road to Twinleaf. I was just telling them what had happened."

"Oh...hi!" Sophie exclaimed. Then, as if remembering something, she turned back to Joy. "I forgot my bag the other day. Is it behind the desk?" Joy nodded and the girl walked over to the front desk where the nurse usually sat.

"How's Eevee doing? Does it still have that cold?" Joy asked Sophie. As the girl walked out from behind the desk, everyone could see that she now wore a small, orange, shoulder bag. She looked up at Joy and smiled.

"Nope. All gone. She's up and running now." Sophie said happily. She then looked at the clock that hung on the wall. "Oh...I need to catch up with Thorn and Rat, I told them I'd be back by now. I'll see you later Nurse Joy!" And with that, Sophie dashed out the door and disappeared up the Solar Pathway's stairs.

* * *

**A/N: **I know it may have been a bit rushed...but I had to get it up soon or you all might have had a fit! The next chapter will be up soon, but this time...I can write it in Word. Hope you enjoyed this chapter anyway! REVIEW!


	2. An Interesting Twist

**A/N: So, I dropped a few hints on one of the characters. Good luck with that. This chapter may be a bit confusing, in fact...the first few chapters are doomed to be confusing, but the whole rest of the story is about finding answers to all these questions that will pop up in your mind as you read...sorry guys. Keep reading, it'll get better soon, I promise ! Don't forget to review! Happy Reading!**

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_**Chapter Two: An Interesting Twist **_

"Yes! I found it, the Mall!" May squealed.

"Good eye, May!" Misty cried.

"Uh, guys…" Max started, the two girls turned to the boys and smiled.

"RUN!" Ash cried. The boys bolted down the street, Pikachu trailing behind. They ran as fast as they could…but not fast enough.

"Gottcha!" Misty cried as she grabbed a hold of Ash's collar.

"Ash! No!" Max cried, but as he ran to help his friend his sister tackled him.

"You're not going anywhere, Max!" May giggled. Brock and Pikachu had no choice but to follow the girls glumly as they dragged Ash and Max toward the infamous shopping mall.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"Come on guys, it isn't so bad," Misty said as May tried on hat after hat.

"Well, it would be better if we didn't have to carry all of your bags…" Ash started, but Misty didn't hear him over her squealing at how cute May's hat was.

"Oh boy…" Max mumbled "Here we go…"

"THAT HAT IS ADORABLE ON YOU MAY!"

"YOU REALLY THINK SO, MISTY?"

"TOTALLY!"

"THEN I'M BUYING IT!" May cried as she ran for the front desk. The boys groaned.

"Really, May, do you _need_ another hat?" Max asked. May ignored him. Misty did not.

"Yes, she does because it looks ADORABLE on her! Don't you think, Pikachu?" Pikachu, who was involuntarily-dressed in a clown poke-outfit that Misty and May had picked out for him, chose not to answer.

"Oh, Pikachu, you're no fun either. You boys just don't know—huh?"

"What's with the siren?" Max asked, but the intercom answered for him.

"ATTENTION SHOPPERS. ATTENTION SHOPPERS. WE ARE NOW EVACUATING THE MALL. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. PLEASE FIND THE NEAREST EXIT. PLEASE FIND THE NEAREST EXIT."

"Did you hear that?" May asked as she ran up to her friends, newly-bought hat in tow.

"Yeah, we did." Brock answered.

"Shopping Spree is over, girls." Max said. Misty and May nodded. Pikachu leaped onto Ash's shoulder and the five friends ran out of the store and into the crowd. As soon as they escaped the mall, the friends stopped to catch their breathe.

"Wow…maybe we…shouldn't have gone…shopping…eh, May?" Misty asked. There was no response.

"May? Hey, guys, where's May?" Misty asked.

"What? You mean she's not here?" Max cried.

"She was behind us a minute ago…oh my god! She's still in the mall!" Misty cried. Max ran toward the doors, but Brock grabbed him by the arm.

"There are too many people running out of the building to get in," Brock said "May's smart, she'll find a way out."

They waited and watched as the crowd got thinner and thinner. They listened as the alarm went off several times, always the same:

"ATTENTION SHOPPERS. ATTENTION SHOPPERS. WE ARE NOW EVACUATING THE MALL. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. PLEASE FIND THE NEAREST EXIT. PLEASE FIND THE NEAREST EXIT."

And then…nobody ran. The mall was empty. The police officers rushed in. And May was still missing.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

May groaned. She tried to sit up but it hurt too much. She collapsed back to the floor. She tried to recall what had happened. She'd been following her friends…and then she'd tripped…someone must have kicked her when they were escaping…ESCAPING! May bolted up, then groaned as her head pounded.

"I need to…get out of here…evacuation…I…" But May was cut off. Footsteps. She heard footsteps. Her heart started pounding. Then, the intercom went off once more.

"PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THE DOORS, I REPEAT, PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THE DOORS. POLICE ARE TAKING CARE OF AN INTRUDER. INCASE THEY TRY TO ESCAPE, PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THE DOORS."

May's heart started thumping harder. The footsteps were getting louder. Everything started to swim before her eyes, and before May could do anything, she blacked out.

Just then, the footsteps stopped. If May were still conscious, she would have seen a boy dressed in black standing a few feet away from her. He was surprised to see her there. Curiously, he walked over to her. His emerald eyes looked her over. She seemed about his age. Suddenly, his Riolu scampered over to him.

"What should we do now, Riolu?" he asked. The pokemon looked up at him and then to May. Then, they heard shouting from close by.

"He went this way!"

"He won't get away this time, the thief!"

The boy turned to Riolu. The two exchanged looks, then the boy picked May up and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Let's get out of here." The boy said. Riolu nodded, then shut its eyes. The two, along with May, vanished just as the police rounded the corner.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"I'm sorry, Max. We searched the entire building and we couldn't find her. She must have escaped somehow." Officer Jenny said.

"Where could she possibly be?" Misty cried.

"We've checked the Pokemon Center, and the Mart." Brock stated.

"She's not at the beach." Ash said.

"We'll find her, don't worry." Jenny said confidently "We just have to keep looking." And as if on cue, Sophie ran up to them, smiling from ear to ear.

"Guys, I found her!" she cried.

"Seriously?" Max asked.

"Yeah! Well…actually, my friends found her, but…oh, just follow me!" Sophie called as she ran back the way she'd came. The friends waved to Jenny, and followed the young girl. When they rounded the corner, Sophie stopped. She was talking to a blonde haired girl. Over at the nearby ledge, May was sitting and talking to a boy with green hair. When she saw Max, she smiled.

"MAY!" Max cried as he ran to hug his sister.

"Max, calm down, I'm ok."

"I th-thought I'd n-never see you again!" Max sobbed. May patted her brother on the back. She turned to the boy.

"He gets a bit emotional sometimes."

"I see." The boy said.

"Max, this is Rat, Sophie's friend." May said. Max snorted.

"What kind of a name is—" but he was cut off as Sophie skipped over to them.

"Thanks Rat! We almost thought she was a goner!" Sophie said. Rat smiled.

"Hmph, I'm amazed someone could be so clumbsy." Rat said. He flicked his hair out of his face. May glared.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing." Rat stated, cockily.

"Oh, is that so?" May asked.

"Hey guys," Sophie interrupted "Rat and I are going on a little trip around Sinnoh, if you're going to be here a while, you could join us!"

"We?" Rat asked, glaring at Sophie.

"Yes, _we_." Sophie said.

"And does your father know about this?" Rat asked. Sophie gave him a look. Rat seemed to understand.

"Fine, but _they're_ not coming."

"And just why not?" Sophie asked.

"Because," Rat growled.

"Ignore him, he's just cranky when he doesn't get his nap." Sophie joked. May giggled. Rat sighed.

"Fine, they can come, but you owe me." Rat grunted to Sophie as he got up and walked over to say hello to the others. When he was out of earshot, Sophie giggled.

"Score one for me, zip for him." She said, she then turned to May and Max. "I get to say that a _lot_, but don't tell him that."

"Don't worry, Sophie, your secret's safe with us!" Max said. The two then followed Rat leaving May by the ledge.

May smiled. She turned to the pokemon that had been sitting next to her. It looked up at her and smiled as she patted its head.

"How do you put up with him, Riolu?" she asked. Then, she stood up and followed her brother. As soon as she was gone, Riolu's smile faded. It looked to the sky. This was an interesting twist.

"_We'll be leaving soon, and there's more of us now."_

"_**Ok, we'll see you when you get here."**_

*_You're a Riolu, correct?*_

"_As always, my friend, as always."_

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**A/N: If you didn't catch any of my hints...then you're dense...no offense...hey, I RHYMED! hehe! ehem...sorry bout that...I'm a random person :D**

**Review!**


	3. The Clearest of Blue

_**Chapter Three: The Clearest of Blue**_

"I can't believe you talked me into letting them come along." Rat spat at Sophie. The two had waited, until their new friends had gone to the Pokemon Center for their things, to argue over the matter more thoroughly.

"Oh, come on! You know it'll be more fun with company!" Sophie shot back.

"Fun? You know very well that this was not meant to be 'fun'." Rat said.

"Your instructions were to go to the lakes and get the pokemon, not to bore yourself to death!"

"You weren't even supposed to come in the first place, Sophie! Do you know how worried he would—"

"WORRIED?! YOU MUST BE JOKING!"

"Sophie, just…"

"MY FATHER WOULDN'T SPEND ONE PENNY IF IT WOULD SAVE ME!"

"Ok, Sophie, I—"

"Give up? Yeah, I bet you do!" Sophie cried as she stormed towards the Pokemon Center. Rat sighed; he hated it when Sophie was right. And she usually was.

* * *

"May, come on! You're taking forever!" Max whined.

"I'm just getting my bag on, be patient." May said.

"That's what you said five minutes ago!"

"That I was getting my bag on?"

"No, to be patient!"

"Oh, well, deal with it." May said as she closed the door to the room. She handed Nurse Joy the key as she and her brother entered the lobby.

"FINALLY!" Ash exclaimed as soon as he saw the two. He then rushed out the door, Pikachu trailing behind.

"We told him we would leave as soon as you two got here." Misty explained "I guess he took it a bit _too_ literally…"

"That's ok, Misty. Let's go." May answered as the two girls left the center.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

The group had been walking for a while now. They passed the entrance to Sunnyshore and headed for the beach. Just as Rat, who was way ahead of everybody else, took his first step into the sand, May let out an exasperated sigh.

"Where are we going anyway? Is it near Twinleaf? Because we need to get Dawn in Twinleaf." She said. Rat stopped.

"Wait…who?" he asked.

"Dawn. Our friend. That's the reason we came in the first place." May explained. Rat shot an annoyed look at Sophie before he answered.

"Well, luckily for you, Twinleaf happens to be exactly where we're going." He answered.

"Seriously?" Max asked.

"That's awesome! Then there won't be any problem!" Ash added. Rat sighed.

"Yeah…no problem." Rat said. He looked out over the ocean, it always seemed there was something the world wasn't telling him when he looked at the ocean. Then again, he was probably imagining things.

"Hey, are you ok?" Rat shook his head as if to clear it and looked to the person who was talking to him. It was May.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. Just…fine." He turned his gaze back to the ocean. This time…there was something…he knew it.

"You don't look ok…" May said. Rat whipped his head back to her.

"I _told_ you I'm…" he looked into her eyes; they were such a clear blue…the _clearest_ of blue. Why had he not noticed this? This blue almost reminded him of…of something…

"Rat?" May asked. He turned his gaze to the ocean. Clear blue…the ocean…

"Rat? Hello?" May asked. But he couldn't here her. Everything around him disappeared, it wasn't late in the evening…it was midday…

**--(Flashback)--**

"_Look at the ocean! Isn't it beautiful? Such a clear blue!" A young girl squealed. Her blonde locks swayed as a gentle breeze blew around them. _

"_You're right, Leah, it is pretty!" he said as he ran up to his friend._

"_Pretty? I didn't say pretty, silly! I said BEAUTIFUL!" Leah giggled._

"_Same thing…"_

"_Drew, you have no idea do you?" Leah asked while shaking her head. _

"_About what?"_

"_Pretty and Beautiful are two completely different things!" Leah answered._

"_Says who?"_

"_Says ME!" Leah cried. Giggling, she poked him._

"_TAG! You're it, Drew!" And she ran off. _

"_LEAH!" he cried and happily ran after her…_

**…_And then…something snapped him out of it…_**

"…Rat…RAT!" Sophie cried. Slowly, he opened his eyes. It was dark out. Wait…it hadn't been this dark before! He groaned.

"What time is it?"

"10:32." Came Brock's voice.

"Don't worry; you were only out for a couple of hours." Sophie added.

"What…what happened?" he asked.

"We don't know. One minute you were fine, the next May was screaming and you were on the ground." Sophie answered.

"Oh…where is she?" he asked.

"Right here, Rat." Came May's voice.

"…Rat…?" he asked.

"Yes, Rat, that is your name." Sophie said. He was silent for a minute, then finally…

"No…it's not."

"What are you talking about? I've known you practically my entire life. Your name has always been—" Then, something dawned on her. Sophie stared, mouth gaping, at her friend.

"What? What is it?" May asked. All eyes turned to the boy supposedly called Rat. He continued.

"I think…I think my name is…Drew."

* * *

**A/N: Muahahahaha! Cliffie! Sorry, this chapter's short...but Chapter 4 will be up soon! I promise! In the meantime...REVIEW PEOPLES! I LUV REVIEWS! XP**


	4. A New Hobby

**A/N: **So...sorry about the hold up...I was a bit busy while on vacation, and got a bit lazy after I got home...so...yeah, sorry bout that. But here's Chapter Four! And I know you're gonna like it, even though it may be just a _tad_ short...heh heh...anyways, on with the story!

**Disclaimer: **I do NOT own pokemon!!

* * *

_**Chapter Four: A New Hobby**_

"So…hold up." Ash said. "Sorry, but can you explain that one more time?" Sophie sighed.

"Yes, Ash. You see Ra—Drew, and Thorn both have one thing in common. Neither of them can remember their lives before my father found them. Naturally he searched for their parents, but with no success…I think it was Thorn that was found first, right Drew?"

"Yes, that would be correct." Drew mumbled.

"Ok, so anyway…when my father couldn't find their parents he told them to think of something he could call them by. Since neither of them could remember anything but the last thing they heard before their memories mysteriously vanished, they both used the last thing they could remember—'Thorn' and 'Rat'." Sophie then turned to Drew.

"That pretty much sums it up…right?" she asked. Drew thought about it for a moment, then nodded. Sophie turned back to Ash.

"Get it now?" she asked. Ash nodded.

"I barely even met him, and now I have to call him by a new name?" May complained.

"Sophie's known me longer, that would make it harder for her, I'd think." Drew mumbled. May ignored him.

"I've never heard much about your father, Sophie. Why is that?" Max asked. Sophie's face held no expression.

"I don't know, just happened that way." She snapped.

"Ok, ok, geeze, calm down…" Max said, not wanting to get on his new friend's bad side.

"So…Drew's memory is coming back?" May asked. Everyone looked at Drew. He was deep in thought and didn't answer.

"Drew? Is that right?" Sophie asked.

"Huh…what?" Drew said, coming back to earth.

"May wondered if your memory was coming back…I would answer that but all we've heard so far is that your name is Drew…so, is your memory coming back, or isn't it?" Sophie asked.

"I don't know…it was just one memory. I wouldn't get your hopes up." Drew said dully.

"It's not just one memory though…that was your name you remembered." May said.

"Hmph. I had a replacement name, it didn't really matter." He said.

"But doesn't it feel better going by the name your mother gave you?" May asked.

"It might have been from my mom, who knows? It could've been from my dad. And for all I know, they may not have even cared about me." Drew said coldly. This shocked everyone, especially Sophie.

"Don't give us that crap! You've been wanting to know your name forever, and now that you know it…you don't care?!" Sophie cried.

"You don't get it! It would be great if it weren't for the fact that my memory was exactly how Thorn described that ridiculous dream she's been having!" Drew shouted. Now everyone but Sophie was completely confused.

"How is that bad?! That means that it really happened!" Sophie cried.

"And how is that good?!" Drew asked.

"Because, it means you're both regaining your memories!" Sophie cried.

"Which is BAD!" Drew shouted.

"Why, because of all that insanity crap my _father_ has been drilling into your heads?!" Ash and co. didn't miss the venom in the word "father".

"No! Because…oh never mind…" Drew stood up and turned towards the forest, he started to walk away.

"And just where do you think you're going?!" Sophie cried.

"Just leave me alone, Sophie…" Drew mumbled as he continued into the trees and out of sight. All was silent then. What had just been a peaceful conversation had transformed into an explosion of shouting between Sophie and Drew so quickly, that nobody had seen it coming. Max was the first to speak.

"May and I get into arguments, but that was brutal." He said. Sophie finally turned to the others, she seemed a bit sad…and then angry again.

"I have to go cool down." She said as she walked to her sleeping bag. May stood up and started following Drew's trail.

"May, what are you doing?" Misty hissed. May turned to her friend, her face blank.

"He said for Sophie to leave him alone, I just wanna make sure he's ok." May explained. Misty nodded.

"Good idea, I'll take care of Sophie." May nodded and turned back to the forest, continuing on her way.

* * *

Drew sat on the forest floor, leaning against a tree. He loved how the forest had a way of calming you. The sound of trees rattling in the wind had always calmed him. But now he was still angry.

'_Stupid Sophie…what does she know?'_ he thought angrily. Just as soon as he thought it, guilt washed over him. Sophie had always been like a sister to him, he knew her better than that. He knew her well enough to know that she was actually one of the smartest people he knew. But why hadn't she figured out that this would bother him? Ever since he'd started living at the Academy, he had always wanted to know his past. He'd been wishing for it for years. Why now? Of all times, why would his memory start returning when Noir was testing him? Why…

"Drew!" Drew cringed, he recognized May's voice. She was searching for him…at least she hadn't found him yet. He sighed, May was the one person he _didn't _want to see right now…and yet…part of him did want to see her…

"Drew?" He turned his head, just enough to see her next to him. Then he turned away. He could sense that she was sitting down, at least he didn't have to go back to camp…

"What is it, May?" he finally asked. May bit her lip, not sure if her question would set him off or not. She didn't want, in particular, to upset him again. She decided she'd take the chance.

"What was all that about?" May asked.

"All what?"

"You and Sophie…in camp…" May said. Drew was quiet for a while, then he spoke.

"You're asking about what Sophie said about her father." He stated. May was taken aback.

"N-no…I was also wondering about Thorn's dream…" she mumbled. Drew chuckled. May gave him a puzzled look.

"I thought so. Hasn't anyone ever told you that curiosity killed the Skitty?" Drew asked. It was May's turn to sigh this time.

"Too many times to count…" she grumbled. Drew couldn't stop himself from laughing at this.

"What?" May asked, defiantly.

"I thought so; you seem like the kind of person to get themselves into trouble."

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" May pouted. Drew smirked, he'd suddenly found a new hobby.

"Oh, nothing." He said innocently. May glared.

"Fine, don't tell me." She turned away from him, her nose in the air. Drew smirked again, making fun of May was the most fun he'd had in a long time. He couldn't understand it himself…it just was. Maybe having Sophie's friends on this "trip" wasn't so bad after all.


	5. Lake Valor

**A/N: **Ok, ok...this took FOREVER to put up...sorry... but I've been a bit distracted lately and...you can guess the rest... Now, I know this chapter is short...once again, sorry...but the Contest Shipping is starting to heat up now, so hope THAT makes you happy

I don't own pokemon...yada yada...on with the story

* * *

_**Chapter Five: Lake Valor**_

"Uggh! My feet _hurt_! Can't we take a break?" May groaned. The group had been traveling through the forest all day—Drew and Sophie had said that the first stop would be Lake Valor—and so far they seemed to be walking in circles. As it had been so far, Drew was keeping his spot in front, followed closely by Sophie and Max who chatted leisurely, followed by Ash, Misty, Brock, and May.

"Come on, May! Just a bit further!" Sophie called from up front. May sighed. At the beginning of the trail she had been right up with Ash and the others…and now she was too tired to keep up with them! May watched as they got farther and farther away. She finally stopped and looked down at her shoes.

'_There's only one way out. If I wait here, they'll come get me when they're finished…' _she thought. Drew had other plans.

"Come on, you're slower than a Slowpoke!" May jumped at his voice. She hadn't noticed he'd come back to get her. She stood staring at him. Drew sighed.

"If you don't start moving, Max will have my head." He said. May still didn't move.

'_Why should I? What if I don't _want_ to?!' _she thought. Once again, her plans were ignored.

"What the—hey! Let me go!" May cried as Drew swung her over his shoulder. He ignored her.

"You're heavy…maybe you should lay off what ever it is you're eating." He teased.

"Why you…!" May growled. She was too angry to care about anything at the moment, even the fact that—for someone carrying her—Drew was actually catching up to everyone else.

"I said _let go_!" May cried.

"And I said _get moving. _ But we apparently can't all have what we want, now, can we?" Drew said. May growled. Drew smirked, this would be fun.

"DREW! LET GO OF ME, OR SO HELP ME I WILL—"

"Fine." Drew said. He then dropped her to the ground. May landed on her butt with a thud.

"OW!"

"You said 'let go of you'. Poor choice of words." May glared at Drew. He only smirked back. "You might want to actually look at the lake, May. You know, instead of having your back to it." he added. May started to scowl but, as she turned her head, she smiled. It was _beautiful_! The lake sparkled as the sun's light shone down on it. The surrounding trees seemed…welcoming, as they swayed in the breeze.

"Lake Valor." Sophie said in awe. May hadn't even noticed that the others were there; she'd been too busy arguing with Drew.

"It's incredible." Misty said. Ash nodded in agreement. The group stood awestruck.

"Who's up for some swimming?" Sophie finally said, breaking the silence.

"That sound like a great idea!" Brock said. "While you all are swimming, I can fix lunch!"

"Ok, then! Let's swim!" Ash cried.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"Come on, Max! You're slow!" May mock-whined.

"I'm just rubbing in the last of the sunscreen!" he cried. May sighed. Ash, Misty, and Sophie were playing Marco-Polo and Drew was nowhere to be seen. May wouldn't play with anyone until Max got in, but she was getting impatient.

"Almost done!" Max called. May sank a bit into the water, annoyed. Just then, someone grabbed her shoulder. Before May could scream, a hand covered her mouth.

"Shh!" Drew hissed. May turned to glare at him, he was not making her very happy today.

"What is it that you want?" May spat. She expected Drew to sneer, but he didn't. Instead, he looked serious.

"I wanna show you something."

"Oh really?" May asked angrily. Drew sighed.

"Oh, for Arceus' sake, just follow me." And with that, he dove under the water. Puzzled, May took one last look at Max and then dove under after him.

The lake above was nowhere near as beautiful as _under_ the water. May had to stop herself from gasping. The light shined through the clear blue water so that you could see _everything. _Water pokemon swam in groups, some played. A vibrant display of coral in all shades of pinks and oranges covered the floor. Greenery was everywhere, and flowed along with the river currents. May was almost too stunned to realize that Drew was leaving her behind. She swam faster to catch up. Drew noticed this and smirked.

They swam on towards the floor. May was just starting to run out of breath when Drew made a sudden turn toward a coral-covered wall. He then turned to her and pointed at a large opening to what seemed like an under water cavern. The two swam thru and, just as May realized that they were swimming upward, their faces broke the surface of the water. May gasped for air and then in amazement at what she saw.

"What….is this place?!" May cried.

"Azelf's Shrine."


	6. Green, Blue, and Red

**A/N: **Sorry about the huge gap, guys! And sorry this chapter's so short…but I had a bit of trouble figuring out how to get this part into the story and it ended up as a short chapter that took forEVER! So…hope u enjoy it anyways…Happy Reading!! :D

* * *

_**Chapter Six: Green, Blue, and Red**_

"Azelf's Shrine." Drew said simply. May was too awestruck to say another word. She could only look around the cavern. Stone steps led up to the base of a statue, a statue that looked very much like the small, blue, mirage pokemon—Azelf. May had heard the legends of the three mirage pokemon, Mesprit, Uxie, and Azelf. But the fact that she was standing here in _Azelf's Shrine_ was unbelievable. The mirage pokemon were supposed to be creatures of myth! Then again…May had seen many mythical pokemon in her lifetime…thanks to her friendship with Ash.

"How…how did you find this?!" May finally exclaimed. Drew seemed as if he was about to answer and then a pained look flashed across his face.

"I don't know. It's as if…I just knew…" he turned his gaze from her. May gave him a puzzled look before examining the shrine again. It was huge! But not too gaudy like some shrines were. There was the statue and steps up to it, and then there was a large platform, and drawings carved into the wall…but that was about it. A green glow illuminated the cavern from the stone Azelf's forehead where a jewel was carved. May was busy observing the stone jewel when Drew spoke again.

"Green means Azelf is on the lakefront, blue means he's in the shrine, and red means he's not anywhere near the lake." May stared at him, she'd never heard that bit of information in all the information she knew about the mirage pokemon.

"How do you know that?" May asked, she wasn't surprised with the shrug Drew gave her.

"We better go back up to the others; they don't know where we are." May said.

"You're in a shrine that supposedly doesn't exist for a pokemon that supposedly doesn't exist and you want to leave after two steps in and two questions? May, May, May…" Drew shook his head. May glared.

"I've seen shrines for mythical pokemon before, and I've had my fair share of getting involved with legends. One less won't kill me." May spat. However, as much as she wanted to brag/yell at Drew, the truth was that she really didn't want to leave at all. The place was incredible. Drew gave her a look May recognized as the 'you're out of your mind look' before he shrugged and turned to jump back into the lake. Then, three things happened that inevitably led to May's scream. Drew jumped, as he disappeared Riolu's head poked out of the water, and the shrine glowed blue.

At the sound of May's scream, Riolu plugged his ears and ducked under the water and when Drew came up, the shrine was green again.

"What's wrong, May?" Drew asked, looking a bit worried and exasperated at the same time. May blinked, looking around the once-blue shrine.

"But…but…but…huh?" May gave Drew a blank stare and the worry disappeared from his gaze. He rolled his eyes.

"What? Afraid to be alone, May? Come on, Riolu came to get us. The others probably sent him." And with that he was gone again. May shook herself and walked quickly back to the entrance, jumping into the lake while thinking about what Drew had said…

"_Green means Azelf is on the lakefront, blue means he's in the shrine, and red means he's not anywhere near the lake." _

And as the lake water flowed around her, May had the strangest feeling that she was being watched.


	7. Reunion

_**Chapter Seven: Reunion**_

"Well? Find anything?" Sophie asked, a smug look on her face. Drew tried ignoring her, however his friend had something else in mind.

"I thought this whole thing was for _the greatest good of all pokemon blah blah blah_?" she stated the second half of the sentence in a mocking tone.

"Shut up, Sophie. And stop mocking your father." Drew whispered.

"I can mock whoever I want to mock. Besides, I hate my—" Drew clamped a hand over her mouth as Max came running up from the group trailing behind.

"Hey, Sophie! Come look at this Vileplume! It's HUGE!" he cried, eyes sparkling. Sophie immediately ran after her friend. Drew watched as the two of them curiously poked the pokemon with a stick. The annoyed Vileplume grunted and crawled back into the bushes from which it most likely lived. Drew sighed, Sophie rarely got a chance to see the world. He and Thorn usually told her about their journeys around Sinnoh. She preferred the landscape part rather than hearing about the actual missions, though.

"Come on, slowpoke! Everyone's leaving you behind!" May's voice snapped Drew out of his thoughts. He blinked and turned to walk past the girl, tugging her hair as he did so.

"Hey! That hurt!" May snapped. Drew smirked.

"Welcome to Hotel Grand Lake, Sinnoh's most popular resort. What can I do for you all today?" The group had arrived at a resort and had decided to stay for the night. The man at the front desk looked at them expectantly. Misty spoke up first.

"How many people to a room?" she asked. The clerk smiled.

"Well that would be about three to four little lady." He answered.

"Great, one for girls one for guys. So we need two rooms." May chirped. Drew rolled his eyes.

"We are perfectly capable of doing the math, thank you May." He said sarcastically. May glared at him. Max and Sophie snickered. Misty took the keys from the clerk and handed one to Ash.

"There's the boys' key, I have the girls'. I think we should get some rest…"

"Not until I train my pokemon!" Ash interrupted.

"For what? You already competed in Sinnoh." Misty said.

"For…uh…for fun! Yes, for fun!" Pikachu nodded quickly.

"Not on my watch. Bed." Misty said.

"But…"

"BED! B-E-D! NOW!" Ash scurried away at this, Brock, Drew, and Max following closely behind.

"Whatever…MOM!" Ash cried behind him.

"I am NOT your mother!" Misty shouted.

"You sure act like it!" Ash called back as he disappeared outside. May and Sophie both started to giggle at the ridiculous argument only to stop and whistle innocently as Misty rounded on them.

"We should go to bed to." Misty said and she started towards the door. May and Sophie followed her.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Ash was brushing his teeth and staring into the mirror. Brock and Max were in the other room watching a Sinnoh contest on the TV, Pikachu was lounging on his bed, and Drew had gone outside. As Ash stepped into the other room he joined Brock and Max. Pikachu hopped onto his lap and resumed his nap.

"_What a beautiful attack made by Glameow! Oh, but here comes Nidorina with a solid horn attack! Oh no! Poison point has poisoned Glameow! That takes some serious points!"_

"I think May misses contests." Max said "She said she's thinking about competing in Sinnoh after the trip's over…maybe she and Dawn can go together."

"Yeah, hey look at that." Brock said.

"_And that concludes this contest! Join us next time for another contest in Hearthome City!"_

"Hearthome City isn't far from here. May could compete then." Ash said. Max jumped up.

"That'd be awesome! I bet May'll be really excited! Can I go tell her now?"

"No, it's late. You know May, she's probably asleep by now." Brock said "Tell her in the morning."

"Ok." Max said, a bit less enthusiastically.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Drew could hear the other guys talking about contests in the building they were staying in. As it had turned out, each "room" was its own building. Drew couldn't help but listen in to the conversation once he heard them talking about Hearthome. Now they were planning on wasting time to have May compete in a contest? Uggh…

"May's a coordinator, huh?" Drew sighed. He'd always loved contests, but he was never allowed to compete…another thing Sophie was using to try to abduct him into her anti-academy antics. But at the same side he knew she was being ridiculous. The Academy wasn't bad. No matter what she may think. She was probably just going through a rebellious phase. Kids do that all the time, right? Drew sighed…not at 7 years old they don't.

Drew got up and started walking toward the main building, he wanted food and he knew Riolu would be getting bored of its pokeball by now. He released it and sure enough, he was running in circles.

"Will you calm down?" Drew asked, Riolu shook its head and kept running. Drew sighed, but couldn't help but smile. As soon as they reached the main building and walked through the door, Drew felt uneasy. The building, which had been brimming with tourists a few hours ago, was deathly quiet.

"Riolu…let's go back…" Drew said. Riolu, who looked way too alert for comfort, nodded. As Drew turned to open the door, he heard a scream. It came from the kitchen. He ran towards the sound, Riolu tailing behind. He slammed open the kitchen door and froze.

"Rat! What a pleasant surprise!" Drew stared from the familiar face, one he didn't wish to see.

"Blade…what are you doing here?" Drew asked, his words filled with resentment.

"Oh, just checking up on you…and then I met up with this little girly. We've been having a great time, haven't we?" It was only when he mentioned her that Drew realized that Blade wasn't the only one in the kitchen. The girl whimpered and as Drew looked at her his eyes widened. It was May. Anger started to boil inside of him as he realized that Blade's "fun" consisted of something that had caused several bruises on May's arms and a cut on her cheek. Drew hated Blade before, now he wanted to kill him.

"What were you two doing?" Drew asked, trying to act casual.

"We were just having a nice little chat, weren't we?" Blade laughed as May trembled. Drew gritted his teeth.

"Oh, really?" Drew asked "I've never heard of a chat that involves screaming."

"Oh they're quite common, my friend!" Blade said in a cheery voice that might make one puke.

"Maybe for you, but not so much for my traveling partner." Drew answered coldly. Blade's eyes widened.

"Oh, she's a friend of yours?" He looked back to May who cringed. Blade sneered "I'm terribly sorry, you can have her back now." He grabbed May by the arm and pushed her towards Drew. Riolu growled.

"Oh look! It's your little mutt! On a mission with you again, Rat?" Blade asked. His voice seemed interested; his face showed that he was truly bored.

"Yes. Go away, Blade."

"Where's Azelf? I would have thought you to go to the closest lake first? Unless…you didn't find anything…" Blade sneered, May's eyes grew wide, Drew glared, and Riolu growled louder.

"Alright, alright, I'll be off. See you again soon my friend. I hope you have better luck with Mesprit…Noir won't be happy to hear the news on Azelf." And with that, Blade was gone. Drew didn't move until he heard the front door slam. May was still trembling.

"What were you doing in the kitchen?" Drew demanded. May said nothing.

"What? Were you hungry?" Drew asked, exasperated. May nodded slowly.

"I'm always hungry about now…I came to get some ramen…then your friend showed up…" Drew glared.

"Blade is _not_ my friend. He never was he never will be. You see him again and you run, May. You run and you never look back, got that?" Drew said. May nodded.

"Good." Drew said. He turned to leave when he heard May behind him.

"If he's not your friend…then who is he?" Drew stopped at that. The two were silent for a while. Finally, he turned back to her.

"Blade is a member of the Academy. Actually, he's more than that; he's an admin, a close advisor to Noir—The Academy's founder, and Sophie's father. He's the one that found me unconscious at the Valor Lake Front. People expect me to look up to him and to respect him for his kindness and high rank. But the truth is that he's a horrible excuse for a person. I've seen him do worse to a girl than that little scratch." Drew motioned towards May's face. Then he continued.

"I hate his guts."


	8. Mud and Flood

_**Chapter Eight: Mud and Flood**_

"Come again! Anytime!" the clerk called as the group left the building. As was becoming routine, Drew lead with Sophie close behind talking with Max while Ash and Misty bickered about something ridiculous with Brock having to listen to the entire argument, May flittered from group to group. At the moment, she was interrogating Drew.

"So, why were _you _in the kitchen Drew?" she asked. He ignored her.

"Aw, come on!" May pled. Drew's silence continued.

"If you don't answer me, I'll assume you followed me." May said. Drew shrugged.

"If that's what you want to believe, be my guest." He answered.

"AHA!" May shouted, Drew rolled his eyes.

"I didn't say I actually followed you, May. I might have, or I might not have. I simply told you to believe whichever one you choose."

"Well I choose to believe that you were following me, so there!" May said. Drew smirked.

"Whatever, May."

"Hey, Drew!" Sophie called. Drew stopped to let her catch up.

"What is it, Sophie?" he asked.

"Max told me about a contest in Hearthome!" Sophie exclaimed, her eyes shining.

"Yeah! It's gonna be great! May, you should enter!" Max cried. Excitement rushed through May at Max's words. A contest? She hadn't entered a Pokemon Contest in years; she missed the stage and spotlights.

"A contest! That's just what Beautifly needs! She's been anxious for some action! So have I!" May cried.

"Max told me that you're a coordinator, May. I think that's so cool!" Sophie said. She turned to Drew, "Noir isn't here you know, you could enter…"

"And do exactly what I'm not supposed to?? No thanks." Drew snapped. He left the three and continued up the path. Sophie sighed.

"He's wanted to be in a contest forever now…but my father won't let him…" she said sadly "I'll bet he'd be great too…"

"Poor Drew…" Max muttered. May said nothing.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"Pastoria City! It's just as amazing as I remember!" Ash cried.

"I remember that gym battle, I bet you're pumped up so see Crasher Wake again?" Brock asked.

"Of course!" Ash cried. Misty rolled her eyes.

"You'd be excited to see anyone if you had beaten them in a battle." She mumbled.

"What was that?" Ash asked.

"Nothing!" Misty said innocently. And the bickering continued. Brock sighed.

"Did you see that battle, Max?" Sophie asked.

"No…May and I didn't travel with Ash and Brock through Sinnoh. May went off to Johto, she had a couple of rivals going there. I stayed home to help out my dad at the gym. Then I went out as a trainer in Hoenn." Max explained.

"Oh, so have you and May even met Dawn?" Sophie asked. Max had told her earlier that the group had planned to meet up with their friend from Sinnoh, who was also a coordinator.

"Yeah, May met her first. But I've met her a few times over the years." Max said.

"That was my only contest in Sinnoh, this time I'm winning!" May said.

"You mean…you didn't win?" Sophie asked, puzzled.

"No, I lost to Dawn…" May said "But I won't let one loss bring me down!"

"Well I'll be cheering for you, May." Sophie said. May smiled.

"Thank you, Sophie."

"Are we just standing around, or may we continue?" Drew asked, appearing next to May.

"A little impatient, don't you think?" Sophie asked, exasperated.

"No, I just want to get to Hearthome by nightfall. You _do_ want to go to Hearthome, don't you?" He asked. May's eyes grew wide.

"Yes, of course we do! But do you really expect us to get through that muddy path in one day?"

"Do you want to go to Hearthome?" Drew asked.

"Yes…" May mumbled.

"Then, yes. I do." And with that, Drew started for the exit leading to route 212.

"DREW! DON'T THINK THAT JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE WALKING OVER THERE, WE'RE GONNA FOLLOW YOU!" May cried. Drew ignored her.

"I'M DEFINITELY NOT FOLLOWING YOU!" Drew still ignored her.

"Nope. I'm staying right here." Drew was getting farther away, now.

"Um…just standing here. Not following….oh, fine!" May ran to catch up with him. As soon as she was out of earshot, Brock sighed.

"They're worse than you two." He commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ash and Misty shouted together as the rest of the group followed Drew and May through and out of Pastoria City.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" May shrieked. She was waist deep in mud. Sophie and Max had to use Brock's Swampert to keep their heads above the surface.

"Mud…mud…I hate mud! And rain! I hate rain too! Can we go back to Pastoria? It wasn't nasty there!" May complained.

"No, not when we've come this far." Drew said and continued on. May shivered. It was pouring rain.

"It's ok, May." Misty said as she caught up with her "We're almost there."

"I know…I'm just so sick of it." May sighed. It seemed like it was pouring even harder as she said so.

"For pokemon's sake, it's raining harder!" Ash cried. Pikachu, who was on his shoulder, looked a bit frightened.

"What's up Pika—" Ash was interrupted by a large crashing sound. The ground started to shake. The friends all aimed their gazes at the path ahead of them. Max spoke first.

"FLOOD!" he cried. Before any of them could react, a huge wave crashed down on them. May thrashed in the water, no longer able to tell the difference between up and down. Panic clouded her thoughts as she struggled. Alone in the dark and unable to breathe—that was a bad place to be.

A pair of arms wrapped around her just as darkness consumed her.


	9. Caring

_**Chapter Nine: Caring **_

Max shivered under the blanket her shared with Sophie. Misty had given it to the two of them to use. If it hadn't been for Swampert…they would have probably drowned. It was then that they'd found Ash and Misty and then Brock. Swampert had worked hard to keep them all above the surface. Max had looked and looked…but he couldn't find May anywhere in the waves. They were on dry land now. Brock had made a fire and was just finished cooking soup.

"Max," Brock handed a bowl to him. He took it, but didn't eat it. He noticed that Sophie did the same.

"Worried about May and Drew, huh?" Brock asked. Max and Sophie nodded in unison.

"Well, that's expected; we all are. But I'm sure they're fine." Brock said, trying to cheer them up. Max had a horrible feeling that his sister wasn't fine though. Why did she have to get separated from the group? Was she with Drew, or alone? Max's heart sunk at the thought of May being caught up in the current alone.

"I wish they were here…" Sophie whispered. Max could see tears in her eyes.

"We'll find them, Sophie. Everything will be ok." He assured her—but he wasn't so sure himself.

* * *

May didn't open her eyes. She was still trying to figure out where she was. The last thing she remembered was the huge tidal wave…but now it seemed she was on solid ground.

'_At least there's no mud..."_ she thought. It was then that she realized that the ground was soft—softer than any dirt she'd ever slept on. She was wrapped in a blanket. May let her eyes open a crack. There was a fire going. She saw a pokemon sitting by it. It looked a bit like Riolu.

"Riolu..?" May whispered. The pokemon turned its head. For a moment, its eyes flashed a light gold. Then, they were blue again.

"Rio!" the pokemon replied. May sat up where she was, it was dark and the stars shone brightly in the sky. May sighed, so much for getting to Hearthome by nightfall. Then she remembered Drew. Riolu was here, so he must be too. She looked around, her eyes adjusting to the dark. She didn't see him anywhere. She sighed, trying to recall what had happened after the tidal wave. She remembered darkness…and water…then she remembered something else.

"Drew…saved me."

"Sure did." May jumped at his voice behind her. He came out of the forest with a few branches and an oran berry. Riolu jumped up at the sight of the berry, Drew tossed it over to him.

"Riolu's favorite." He explained.

"Oh." May said. She watched as the little blue pokemon devoured his treat.

"Hungry?" Drew asked; she shrugged.

"Not really."

"Ok, then." Drew said simply. May couldn't help but smile as Riolu started getting oran juice in his fur. Drew sat next to her. He followed her gaze and laughed.

"Little mess maker." Riolu ignored him and started licking his fur clean. May giggled.

"You aren't hurt are you?" May turned her gaze from Riolu to Drew. He looked concerned.

"I'm fine." she answered. Drew looked away.

"I should have listened to you…" he said softly.

"Listening to my complaints isn't exactly what I—"

"May, if I'd listened to you and stayed in Pastoria, we wouldn't be in this mess. I put everyone in danger." Drew said, cutting her off.

"We'd have to deal with the mud and rain any—"

"BUT NOT A FLOOD!" Drew cried. They were silent for a while, and then he continued.

"We could have _died_! I don't have a clue where the others are, heck they could be dead for all I know! Stay away from me, May, I've killed your friends!"

"Now that's being a little overly dramatic don't you think?" May asked. Drew turned back to meet her gaze.

"For a moment…I thought you were dead." He whispered.

"Oh…" was all May could say. They sat in silence for a while, until May thought of something else to say.

"Why did you save me, then?" Drew gave her a puzzled look.

"What do you mean, 'why'?" he asked.

"I mean, why would you care?" Drew looked astonished.

"You don't think I care?" he asked. May looked at the ground.

"Do you?" she asked. Drew's cheeks grew light pink. He looked away. An evil smile crept onto May's face.

"Well? Do you?" she asked again.

"The word 'care' is a bit vague, don't you think?" Drew asked.

"You _do_ care!" she cried as she hugged him. Drew's pink face turned scarlet, but he couldn't stop himself from smiling.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry that chapter was short guys, but I didn't have much else to add on...and I thought that was a cute way to end a chapter :D

Anyways...please review! I like reviews, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside ^^


	10. The Wall

_**Chapter Ten: The Wall**_

"Maaaaaayyyyyy! Drrreeewww!" Max called. It was morning, early morning. He and his friends had been searching endlessly for the two, but with no luck. Sophie was starting to sob a bit, Max felt like crying too. May couldn't be hurt…could she? Worry for his sister consumed him.

"I want my sissy!" he finally cried. He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Ash.

"We'll find her Max, don't worry." Turning to Sophie, he added "and Drew too." Sophie nodded, but sniffled as she did so.

"I think we should have some poke-help, if you know what I mean." Misty suggested.

"Right, Swellow! Let's go!" Ash called. Max looked at the bird in awe, he hadn't seen Ash's Swellow in a long time.

"Let's go, Starm—" But before Misty could call out her pokemon, another came out of its pokeball.

"Psy?" Misty stood frozen, with Starmie's pokeball in her hand, staring at her Psyduck. Ash and Brock snickered behind her.

"Hasn't he evolved yet, Misty?" Ash asked.

"I guess some things never change." Brock commented.

"Psyduck! I don't want _you_! I wanted Starmie!" Misty shouted. The yellow duck pokemon stared blankly at her.

"Now, go back in your pokeball!" Misty held out the red and white ball, but her pokemon continued to stare blankly at her. Ash and Brock snickering turned to complete and utter laughter.

"PSYDUCK!" Misty roared, she started yelling at he pokemon so fast and loud that Max couldn't understand her, he and Sophie watched the scene with puzzled looks while Pikachu joined in on the laughter Ash and Brock couldn't stop. Psyduck continued to stare blankly at its master.

"GOT IT!" Max understood the last of her rant. "NOW, GO. IN. YOUR. POKEBALL!!!!" There was a silence while everyone watched what Psyduck would do next. Finally, the pokemon looked as if it was about to speak.

"…Psy??" It asked, and continued its blank stare.

* * *

"There you go, Beautifly." May handed her pokemon the pokeblock that she had for her. She'd let Brock make a batch so that Snorlax wasn't the only one enjoying a treat.

"Now, can you go find Max and the others for me?" May asked sweetly. Her butterfly pokemon nodded, determination in its eyes. And with that, she took off. May watched her go until she couldn't see her anymore. She sighed, what if Beautifly didn't find them…or worse…what if she found them, dead? May shivered.

"Cold?" May jumped. How long had Drew been standing there?

"No, just…never mind." May turned and walked past him. Confused, he followed her.

"Just…?" he prompted. She ignored him.

"Just?" he prompted again. She started eating a granola bar she'd found in her bag.

"May!"

"What?" she asked.

"Just what?" May rolled her eyes.

"I said never mind."

"Yeah? Well I do mind, so out with it."

"No."

"Yes."

"NO"

"YES"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"I said no."

"Well, I said yes." Drew waited for May to come back with another "no" but instead she took another bite of granola.

"Are you ignoring me now?" Drew asked, annoyed. May looked at him innocently, taking another bite of her granola bar. Drew fumed.

"Fine, be that way. But I'm champion at the cold shoulder." He stated, sitting himself down next to her and facing the opposite way. The silence continued until May realized she had finished her granola bar. Forgetting that she was ignoring Drew she asked him:

"Do you have another granola bar?" Drew said nothing.

"I'm really hungry." Drew still said nothing.

"Drew, come on, seriously! Do you want me to starve??" Drew didn't even look at her. Then May remembered about her ignoring him.

"Wait! I'm supposed to be ignoring you! Well then, never mind; I don't want your granola anyway." May huffed. Drew turned and looked like he was choking back laughter.

"What?" May asked, seeing the look on his face. Finally, he spoke.

"You…_forgot_ you were ignoring me…?" He asked.

"Yeah, so!" May said defensively. Drew broke out into laughter, May glared.

"What?!" She shouted accusingly. Drew tried to calm himself down, but failed miserably. May continued to glare at him. He tried again.

"You…you…seriously…" and he broke out laughing again. May punched his arm, but he continued to laugh.

* * *

"So Psyduck has _always_ done that?" Max asked. Misty ignored the question, still fuming. Ash answered for her.

"As long as he's been Misty's pokemon, yes." Sophie giggled.

"Psyduck's so cute, I like him!" she said as she patted his head.

"Psy?" the duck pokemon turned its blank stare to Sophie, causing her to giggle again.

"I'm still confused as to why it hasn't evolved…" Brock prompted Misty.

"So. Am. I." She answered through gritted teeth.

"Hey, Mist! You're calm enough to speak a sentence! But you should really let the words flow together instead. Of. Talking. Like. This." Ash said, imitated Misty. In return, she slapped him.

"Hey! That hurt!" Ash wailed. Misty smiled devilishly. Brock sighed.

"At least it's quieter than their arguing…" he said.

"Yeah, we won't get a head—IT'S BEAUTIFLY!" Max cried. He ran up to the pokemon as it landed.

"Beau!!!" the bug cried gleefully.

"All right! May's ok!" Brock cried, seeing Sophie he added "and I bet she's with Drew." Sophie smiled at him, but only half-heartedly.

* * *

"Need help with that?" Drew asked. May ignored him. She was cooking something for herself; since she was so hungry and all. He sighed, she wasn't too happy with him since he'd laughed at her. He felt his cheeks burn as remembered the night before.

"_She'll get over it."_ he thought to himself. As the silence continued, he found himself becoming more hopeful than certain. The aroma of whatever May was cooking reached him.

"Smells good." He commented. May continued in her silence, it seemed she was too angry to forget she was ignoring him again. He wished she would. Drew started to feel a bit hungry himself, like he was going to tell _May_ that. He was starting to feel uneasy about the silence.

"I'm sorry." He said. The silence continued.

"May, I really am sorry." he repeated. The silence repeated itself too.

"Look, I didn't mean to make you mad. I am sorry." May turned to look at him, but she continued on in her silence. Drew sighed.

"Fine, don't forgive me." He started, he could see that she was caving so he decided to give her the guilt treatment.

"I'll just sit here, all alone, and receive this thanks from you for saving your life." He sighed "I should have known this is the thanks you'd give me…but I was stupid and thought—"

"Will you shut up?" May interrupted, Drew smirked: he'd won. He waited for her to continue.

"Ok, I forgive you. And…thanks." Drew's smirk turned to a grin.

"Any time." He answered. May had turned her head back to her breakfast. Drew hadn't seen her blush.

"_Oh, for the love of pokemon! Drew's blushing has rubbed off on me!" _May thought to herself.

"So what are you cooking anyway?" Drew asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"Soup." May answered simply.

"Oh…well what kind of soup?" Drew asked.

"The surprise kind." May answered as she poured it into a bowl.

"Oh…" Drew was getting hungrier, but he didn't want to admit it. And that soup was starting to smell really good… He was interrupted from his thoughts when a bowl was shoved in his face. He stared at May in surprise.

"Here, you look about starved." May offered, holding out the bowl to him. He took it, and smiled sheepishly at her.

"Just a little…" he answered, deciding he would admit it anyway. After all, she had cooked it…he might as well enjoy it. He stared at his reflection in the soup, he'd had a dream the night before. He was trying to ignore it, but somehow it just kept coming up. He was getting a bit frustrated, however, since the only thing he could remember was a pair of yellow eyes. A distinct golden, really. For some reason, they seemed…familiar.

"Drew?" Drew jumped, not expecting May's voice to interrupt his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh…uh, yeah?" he looked up at her expectantly. Her head was cocked to the side.

"Do you not want to eat?" she asked. He then realized he'd been sitting there, staring at the soup May had given him like a complete and utter moron.

"No!" he exclaimed—a bit _too_ defensively—before he started shoving the food into his mouth. May rolled her eyes and walked back to the fire to get herself a bowl. Drew slowed his eating to actually taste the soup. It was really good!

"_Not bad." _He thought. He went back to pondering his dream, careful this time to actually eat the soup that was sitting in front of his face. Someone…had someone spoken to him? He tried to remember more, but it felt as if a giant wall of thorns kept blocking him. He tried harder, he knew what happened next. He was expecting it. Just…not that much of it.

"Damn it!" he cried as the bowl clattered to the ground. May, surprised by the sudden curse, whipped her head around. Drew had his head in his hands.

"Drew?" he heard her ask, but he ignored her. He was almost there…he knew it.

"Drew?! What's wrong with you?!" May's voice seemed distant. The pain seared through his mind. And, just it felt like his head might split, he remembered the dream. Outside his mind, he collapsed: right into May's arms.

"Drew…"

* * *

**A/N:** Oh no! What will happen next???

Oh...wait...I already know that...hehe. Well you'll soon know too! So, review, and I'll put the next chapter up :3


	11. Remember the Truth

_**Chapter Eleven: Remember the Truth**_

_Waves crashed all around him. He'd been here before…recently. The flood, it was happening again!_

"_May!" Drew cried. He had to find her, he knew he did. That's what had happened before. But, somehow, this was different. He'd found her sooner than this last time. Struggling to keep his head above the water, he started to panic. What if he didn't find her this time?_

"_MAY!" he cried louder. He could have sworn he heard a voice…a familiar voice. He swam towards it. He heard it again, this time it was louder. He then realized that it wasn't May. But the voice…it seemed so…familiar._

"_Drew." The voice called again. All he could see was a pair of golden eyes._

"_Drew, you must keep fighting it." the voice said. He knew this voice…where had he heard this voice?!_

"_Who…who are you?" Drew asked._

"_You must remember…" The voice was getting fainter; and its eyes were starting to fade. Drew tried desperately to remember where he had heard that voice. Then, it came to him. The rest of the pokemon's figure became visible; Drew gasped._

"_Mesprit…" he said softly. Mesprit must have heard for, just before it faded away, Drew could have sworn he saw it smile. _

"_Keep...fighting it...Drew...you must remember…the truth."_

_

* * *

  
_

May didn't dare move Drew. The last time he'd passed out on her had been at the beach, and when he woke up he'd remembered his name. She didn't want to be the one that woke him up right before he remembered something else. She sighed.

"_I hope Beautifly comes back soon…"_ she thought. She really hoped that her pokemon came back with her friends; especially her brother. Drew's words were starting to creep her out.

"What if they really are dead?" she asked no one in particular. Would she really blame Drew if they were? It seemed easier than blaming herself…but she knew it would be wrong to do so.

"I guess I'll just blame the flood." She thought out loud.

"Flood…for…what?" Surprised, May looked down at Drew. He was giving her a puzzled look. May started to panic.

"Drew! I didn't…I didn't wake you up did I?!" May asked. Drew smirked.

"What if you did?" he asked. May's eyes grew wide.

"Then I'd feel horrible!" Drew gave her a more deeply puzzled look.

"Why in the world would you feel bad for waking me up?" he asked. She sighed.

"If you were remembering something and I ruined it, I'd feel horrible." She stated. Drew sat up so abruptly that May almost lost her balance.

"Hey! Be careful will y—"

"How did you know I was remembering something?" Drew asked. May stared at him.

"That's what happened when you remembered your name…you passed out," she answered, then added "why?" Drew shook his head.

"Nothing."

"Ok…so what did you remember?" May asked, curiosity getting the best of her. Drew looked as if he was about to answer when he turned away.

"Nothing." He finally said. May pouted.

"Come on, you admitted you remembered something, so out with it!" she said, starting to get a bit angry.

"Ok, fine. A friend of mine told me to keep trying to remember so I could pass out again. And again. And again. Happy?"

"No." Drew rounded on her.

"Why not?" he demanded.

"I want to know who the friend was, and exactly what they told you." May answered simply. Drew sighed.

"Then good luck." He said, standing up. May noticed that he seemed a bit shaky, and maybe a little pale...

"You ok?" she asked. Drew gave her a surprised look.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" he asked.

"Because you don't look very good…"

"I don't? Heh heh, that's weird isn't it. I feel just fine!" Drew said. May wasn't convinced.

"You're a horrible liar, you know that?" May concluded. Drew gave her a blank stare. At first, May ignored it. Then it started to annoy her a bit.

"What?" she asked. He shrugged.

"I've lied before, I'm rather good at it actually." He answered solemnly.

"Oh really?" she asked, Drew was silent.

"Whatever, Drew." She said as she turned away from him.

"Uh oh…May, whatever you do, don't move." Drew said, sounding serious and maybe a little panicked.

"What? What is it?" May asked; she started to turn her head.

"I SAID DON'T MOVE!" Drew cried. May froze.

"There is a Beedrill behind you, just keep still." Drew warned. May started to panic, an angry Beedrill was nothing to mess with.

"Make it go away!" She cried. She felt something grab her, she screamed. Drew started laughing.

"I told you I was a good liar!" He exclaimed through his laughter. May realized it had been Drew who had grabbed her.

"Drew! I could kill you right now!" she cried, looking up at him angrily. He looked back down at her, an evil grin on his face.

"You wouldn't do that, would you?" he asked. May glared.

"Maybe I would!" she answered. He chuckled.

"I doubt it." he said smugly. May was trying to think of something to say next when Drew abruptly let go of her and backed away.

"What?" she asked, worried that an actual Beedrill attacking.

"May!" as soon as she heard her little brother, May ran towards his voice. She met up with Beautifly first.

"Beau!" it cried gleefully. May hugged her and then ran straight to Max.

"Max! You're ok!" May cried as she picked him up into a bear hug.

"May! I was so scared!" Max sobbed.

"Drew!" Sophie cried, running up to him. To May's surprise, Drew got down on the ground and caught her into a hug. He then started tickling her.

"Stop it!" Sophie laughed.

"May! Drew! You're ok!" May heard Misty and Ash call.

"I knew they would be." Brock stated.

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed. Jumping off of Ash's shoulder to climb up onto May's.

"Hi Pikachu!" May cried gleefully, giggling as he licked her ear.

"Drew! I'm so glad you're ok!" Sophie cried. Drew smiled.

"Of course I'm ok." He said. Sophie noticed that he seemed a bit shaken up, but didn't say anything. She'd ask him about it later.

"May was worried you all were dead." Drew said abruptly. May rounded on him.

"Well EXCUSE ME if SOMEONE brought it up in the FIRST PLACE!" she cried. Drew smirked.

"Did not." He said.

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"DID TOO!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID TOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

"Oh boy…" Brock mumbled.

* * *

**A/N: **Poor Brock, he has too many headaches! Hehe! Anyways, I might not have the next chapter up till nxt week. I'm pretty busy for a few days...but I'll have it up as soon as I can. REVIEW PLEASE :D


	12. Funny Feelings

_**Chapter Twelve: Funny Feelings**_

"Yay! We made it!" May cried as she ran toward the Hearthome City entrance. Drew rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on. You're excited too." She teased him. Drew snorted.

"Whatever." He answered, sounding bored. Sophie could see right through him.

"I doubt it." she said as she skipped away. Drew frowned until she was far enough away; then he smiled, just a little. In truth, he was excited. Contests had always interested him, and he also wanted to see just how good May really was.

"I saw that." May's voice made him jump.

"MAY! I thought you ran toward the city!" Drew cried, May laughed.

"I did! I came back, but you were too busy looking happy, for once, that you didn't notice me." She answered. Drew frowned.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" he asked, exasperated. May giggled.

"Why, whatever are you talking about?"

"You know."

"Nope."

"Yup."

"No."

"Yes."

"NO!"

"YES!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"ENOUGH!!!!!!!!" Brock startled May and Drew. They looked up from their argument. Brock was rubbing his head, and he looked annoyed.

"I've put up with enough of your arguing! I've already had to deal with Ash and Misty, you two are almost worse! My head is pounding from your senseless shouting! So here's an idea, I dare you to not argue for a day. ONE DAY. That's all I'm asking." When Brock was finished, May was looking down at her feet and Drew was trying to find something interesting about a nearby bush.

"Got it?" Brock asked. They nodded. Brock smiled.

"Good, now we can all get some peace…" he mumbled as he headed towards Hearthome. May followed him, followed by Ash and Misty. Max started to follow when he noticed that Drew was still staring at the bush.

"You coming, Drew?" he asked. Drew looked up as if he'd been in a daze.

"Wha..? Oh, yeah. I'll be there in a sec." he answered. Max gave him a strange look before shrugging and following his sister and friends. Drew continued looking at the bush. It was just on the edge of the forest. It was a rose bush. He walked over to it and reached for a flower.

"Ow!" he exclaimed. He hadn't seen the thorn that was hiding behind one of the flower's petals. This seemed like a particularly thorny rosebush. He frowned, he'd been to Hearthome many times—a lot of missions from the Academy were located there. Something about the ruins seemed to suck Noir—the Academy's leader and Sophie's father—in. Drew was starting to get a funny feeling about this bush.

"_Calm down Drew, for Arceus' sake it's a BUSH!"_ he thought. But still…something about this bush…

"Drew! Stop trying to seduce that rose bush and come on!" Drew jumped as May cried out to him teasingly.

"WHY YOU!!!!" Drew cried. But he bit back what he was going to say.

"_Must. Not. Start. Argument."_ He thought. It was killing him inside that he couldn't argue with May. He tried to hide it, but she smiled devilishly—she'd seen anyway. She stuck out her tongue at him and ran off. He sighed:

This was going to be a LONG day.

* * *

"May, slow down! Where are you going?!" Max cried. But May continued running. Drew sighed.

"I got her." He said and ran to catch up. May was fast, Drew was faster. He reached her just in time to grab her before she ran into a large crowd of people. She whipped around to see who had grabbed her.

"Drew! Let me go!" she complained.

"First tell us," he knew the others had caught up "where you're going." May grinned and pointed to the largest building in the city. Drew recognized the contest hall. Immediately he let go and she was off again. Max's eyes grew wide.

"Why'd you let her go?" he asked. Drew smirked.

"You really think she would have paid attention to anyone with that much eagerness?" he asked. Max sighed and shook his head.

"You're right…" he said. Sophie giggled.

"Wow, Drew. You caught that before Max did—her own brother!" she said. Drew felt a blush coming and whirled around to follow May. By the time he found her, his face wouldn't be red anymore. A red beam appeared out of his pokeball to reveal Riolu.

"Lu! Rio!" it cried happily. Drew smiled, Riolu never wasted time when he wanted to stretch his legs. He continued on to the Contest Hall, his partner following him. As he entered the sliding doors, he scanned the lobby for May. He found her talking to Nurse Joy at the front counter. She turned and came over to him.

"Isn't it amazing?!" she exclaimed, he shrugged. May continued.

"I've never been in a contest hall this big before, for the Grande Festival, but not for a regular contest."

"People in Sinnoh take their 'super contests' very seriously." Drew commented. May nodded.

"This is going to be so much fun!" she cried, her eyes sparkling. Drew smiled.

"Yeah." May stared at him.

"What?" he asked.

"You admitted that it would be fun." She answered. He sighed.

"Yeah, I guess I did." May was surprised that he hadn't tried defending himself.

"So…are you entering or not?" she asked. She couldn't help but notice the sad look that flashed across Drew's face.

"I can't." he said quietly.

"Sure you can. All you have to do is sign your name and—"

"No, May. I mean I'm not allowed." He interrupted. It seemed that he'd given up on hiding how sad he was. May looked at him, but he avoided her gaze. Riolu whined. May felt a bit angry.

"Who says you aren't allowed?" she asked.

"Noir."

"Well Noir-Shmoir! I'm signing you up!" she cried as she marched toward the counter.

"May, NO!" Drew cried, May felt his hand grip her wrist. He turned her to face him.

"May, I'm in trouble enough as it is taking so long with this stupid mission, all I'd need is a Pokemon Contest to—"

"Mission?" May looked puzzled. Drew's eyes grew wide.

"Trip. I said trip." He said quickly. May opened her mouth but Drew spoke first.

"No arguing remember?" May clamped her mouth shut. She grumbled. Then she spoke.

"Drew, I don't care how wonderful _you_ think Noir is, but if he is holding you back from your dream then I think he's a horrible man." Drew stared at her. She felt his grip loosen on her shoulders. May bolted for the counter. Drew didn't stop her. She signed him up for the contest she was in and walked back to him.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" he whispered.

"I don't. Can't wait to beat ya." May hummed as she walked away, leaving Drew with his attempt to hold back any argument.

* * *

"IT'S THE LOVELY MISS MARIAN! Come, my sweet, and we shall share this lovely night togeth—EEEAAAHHH!!!!"

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard it all before. Tell you, what? _We'll_ spend a lovely night together instead ok?" Misty interrupted Brock as she dragged him away by the ear.

"HEY! You better NOT!" Ash cried, jealous. Max and Sophie laughed as he dragged a shocked Misty away from Brock. Seeing his chance, Brock tip-toed over to Marian, but was blocked by Croagunk.

"CROA!"

"NOOOOOOOO!" Brock cried as he was dragged away.

"Some things never get old, eh Brock?" Ash immediately stopped dragging Misty and May whipped her head to the familiar voice.

"Dawn!" May cried as she ran up to hug her friend. The two giggled.

"Hey, Dawn! We were on our way to see you!" Ash said enthusiastically. Dawn gave him a weird look.

"You took long enough…I decided to enjoy myself instead of sitting around, bored."

"Dawn! I'm so glad to finally meet you!"

"Misty! Same here!" Dawn squealed as all three girls started squealing. Max and Sophie covered their ears from the racket. Brock seemed to get the idea:

"Ok, that's good on the squealing…some of us are in pain…" he grumbled. The girls stopped.

"Sorry." May said.

"As you should be." Drew said as he walked away. May growled.

"Who was that?" Dawn asked.

"Drew. He and Sophie have been traveling with us." Misty explained.

"Hi!" Sophie called at hearing her name. Dawn smiled and waved at her.

"He also happens to be the most annoying, arrogant, evil, person I've ever met!" May growled. Dawn giggled.

"I doubt that!" she cried. May felt her face grow hot—Dawn laughed more. May glared at her.

"I hate him!" she cried. Dawn shrugged.

"I doubt that too."

"I DO!"

"May, please don't make me tell you and _Dawn_ to stop arguing…" Brock groaned. May sighed.

"Fine."

"So you don't hate him?"

"SHUT UP!"

"Ok then." May growled and stormed off.

"Where are you going?!" Max called.

"TO PRACTICE!" May growled as she fell out of sight. Little did she know, Drew had been listening the whole time.

* * *

"Beautifly! Silver Wind! Skitty! Blizzard! Beautifly, now Psychic!" May cried. She watched as a silvery wind mixed with the crystal-like blizzard, and then as psychic took affect. Beautifly had yet to pull off controlling two attacks—it was her weak point.

"Spiral it!" May cried. She felt shock and awe consume her as a magnificent spiral of Blizzard and Silver Wind surrounded her pokemon. She was entranced as the sun's rays shone off of every snowflake, every wisp of wind.

"Finish it!" she cried as she found her tongue. With a flap of its wings, Beautifly destroyed the giant spiral and was instead surrounded by sparkles that proved its beauty.

"That. Was. AMAZING, BEAUTIFLY!" May cried. Skitty jumped up and down with excitement.

"_If only she knew Blizzard…that'd be an amazing appeal…but I guess I'll have to save it for battling—who knows how we could use that spiral…"_

"Impressive." May jumped, she hadn't expected anyone to interrupt her thinking. But of course, if anyone would—it'd be Drew.

"Thanks." May said. She returned her Beautifly and Skitty so she could face Drew. She expected a smirk, or a teasing look. Instead, he was smiling. This surprised her greatly.

"The way you combined Beautifly and Skitty worked perfectly. They've been working together for a while, haven't they?" he asked. May was caught off guard.

"Uh…yeah…they have." She said. He nodded.

"I can tell." He said, eyes sparkling. May nodded.

"Beautifly was my second pokemon—Skitty my third."

"And your first?" Drew asked. May hesitated; why was he so curious?

"…Blaziken…"

"Started with Torchic, huh? Nice choice. I might have gone with Treecko."

"Why?" May asked, not sure what else to say.

"I like grass types. I started out with Roselia." Drew answered. May looked down at Riolu who still stood by his master.

"So why does Riolu always follow you instead?" May asked. Drew's expression went blank.

"He's always been a…free spirit." He said, pain flashing across his eyes. May pretended not to notice. She'd come to the conclusion that Drew couldn't remember how he'd obtained Riolu—or his Roselia for that matter.

"What other pokemon do you have?" Drew asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Oh, um…a few…" May said. Drew cocked his eyebrow.

"How many is a few?" he asked. May shook her head.

"I want the contest to surprise you." She said. Drew sighed.

"I won't ask who, just how many." He said, May grinned.

"All right…four, not counting—" May looked down at her feet.

"Not counting...?" Drew prompted. May shook her head.

"Nothing. He doesn't belong to anyone." May answered, Drew stared at her.

"Who…?"

"I thought you said you wouldn't ask 'who'?" May interrupted. Drew opened his mouth, but May covered it.

"No arguing." She said. Drew grumbled as May took her hand away. As she walked off she heard him call behind her.

"I will find out eventually." May sighed.

"I have a funny feeling that you won't."

* * *

**A/N:** Hehe! Tricked ya, didn't I???? Different 'funny feelings' than you expected!!!

MUAHAHAHAHA!!!!

But don't worry, the funny feelings you were thinking about are the main point of the story!

So no hard feelings! REVIEW!


	13. Trust

_**Chapter Thirteen: Trust**_

"And now, Sinnoh fans, I give you…the Hearthome city pokemon contest!!" Marian cried as the crowd cheered. Back stage, May and Dawn watched patiently as the first performance took place. They were awed by the Finneon that made the appeal. May was starting to wonder where Drew was when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Ah! Drew don't do that!" May rasped, trying to keep down so her friend could continue to watch the appeals.

"Sorry, didn't know I'd scare you."

"Well, you did."

"May! You're up!" Dawn said, trying to get her attention. May gasped, then ran for the door and disappeared down the hall. Dawn and Drew watched the screen.

"And now the young lady from Petalburg City! But you all know her as May!" Marian cried. The crowd erupted as May entered the stage.

"They're excited." Drew commented. Dawn nodded.

"May's done pretty well over the years, you can't blame them."

"Beautifly! Take the stage!" May cried. Drew gritted his teeth—he still hadn't learned what other pokemon May had.

"Silver Wind!" May cried.

"And May starts with a beautiful Silver Wind that simply blows us all away!" Marian cried.

"String Shot!" May cried. Beautifly lifted her head and shot a string shot that spiraled around her.

"And, Psychic!" May cried. As Psychic took affect, the two attacks meshed. May had recreated the spiral from practice—this time with string shot. Drew gaped as he realized that the sun's rays had the same affect on string shot as it did on Blizzard. Beautifly was surrounded by a sparkling, silvery spiral once again.

"Amazing!" Marian cried.

"Finish it!" May called, and with a flap of its wings Beautifly was once again surrounded by sparkles—this time the string shot had created streamers as well.

"Outstanding!" Mr. Contesta cried.

"Remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo said—as usual.

"I can hardly believe the beauty of it all!" Nurse Joy cried out.

"And May receives a perfect score!" Marian cried. May hugged Beautifly as she giggled.

"You were amazing." She whispered.

"That'll be hard to beat…" Dawn said quietly. Drew smirked.

"We'll see."

* * *

"And, now folks, we give you…Sinnoh's very own, Drew!" Marian called. From the shadows, a man watched. As the familiar boy walked on stage he glared.

"So, Rat…you know more than we thought, do you?" he whispered.

"Roserade, Petal Dance!" Drew cried as he called out his pokemon. As the green, rose pokemon entered the stage, it was surrounded by confetti-like petals.

"Now, Magical Leaf! And then Leaf Frenzy!" Drew cried **(A/N: Ok, so I added an attack…big deal.)** Leaves of all colors joined in with the petals.

"Finish it with Solar Beam!" Drew cried. Roserade leapt into the air to create a giant sun-like orb. As his pokemon kicked the orb it caused vibrations that caused the petals and leaves to swirl all around. The crowd erupted.

"That was absolutely _splendid_! A true nature-reflection of an appeal! And a perfect score to go along with it!" Marian cried as the judges all nodded. Backstage May and Dawn were in shock.

"Oh he is _SO_ going down!!" May cried, pumped up. Dawn nodded, looking determined.

"And we'll be the ones to do it!" she cried as they high-fived.

"Good luck." Drew said, making the two jump. May turned to him.

"That was incredible, Drew. But I don't think you could possibly beat both me and Dawn. We've been coordinating for years." May said. Dawn nodded as Drew shrugged.

"Sometimes a rookie can surprise you." May nodded—she had been a rookie once.

"You're still going down." She said. He smirked.

"Wouldn't want you in any other mood."

* * *

"Yes! May, Dawn, and Drew made it to the second round!" Max exclaimed. Pikachu was dancing excitedly next to him.

"It would be interesting to see a battle between two of 'em." Brock commented.

"I'd love to see May and Dawn have a rematch!" Ash said.

"I don't think May's ever forgotten that defeat; she'd be a challenging opponent for both Dawn and Drew. Seeing as how she has a score to settle with Dawn, and is always arguing with Drew anyway." Brock said. Misty nodded.

"Look! They're showing the match-ups!" Sophie said. Max searched for May's picture.

"May and Dawn—already." He said.

"This is going to be a great battle." Brock said.

"I don't know who to cheer for…" Misty pouted. Ash laughed.

"Cheer for the one that's in the lead!" he said. Misty glared at him.

"That's a cheap trick, Ash." She said. He shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess."

"I'm up against you, Dawn!" May cried. Dawn sighed.

"I guess it had to happen some time." She said.

"You're up against that kid with the Volbeat, Drew." May said. He nodded, then he gave her a devilish grin.

"Looks like I'll find out your other pokemon anyway." He said. May frowned.

"Only one, I'm using S—I mean, a pokemon I have that you have already seen." May said, giving Dawn a sideways look. Her friend hadn't been listening, May looked relieved. She didn't want Dawn to know that she was using Skitty. Dawn didn't even know she had a Skitty. Drew seemed to catch on, he smirked but didn't say anything.

"You ready, May?" Dawn asked. May nodded enthusiastically and the two girls ran off as Marian's voice called their names from the television screen. Drew moved his gaze toward the screen. He watched them call out their pokemon. Dawn had called out a Lopuuny and an Empoleon. May had called out her Skitty and a beautiful Glaceon. Drew was staring in awe when he felt a hand grab his shoulder—hard. Drew whipped his head to the side and his eyes grew wide.

"Hello, Rat. Or maybe you would prefer _Drew_."

"Rock…what are you doing here?" Drew demanded.

"May we talk in…private?" Rock asked, jabbing his thumb to the hallway. Drew was immediately alert—talking could mean anything with Rock…_anything_.

"Uh…sure. Why not?" Drew asked. Rock dragged him toward the door and out into the hall. Drew felt himself being slammed against the wall. Rock glared at him.

"What the hell are you doing here?! You're supposed to be on a mission to find the lake pokemon, not on some luxurious vacation that involves competing in pokemon contests!" Rock shouted. Drew said nothing, so Rock continued.

"I'm starting to get the feeling that you're going soft on me, is that it?!" he spat.

"Of course not, Rock…I'm just…in a…interesting situation."

"Well make it NORMAL again, because I was sent to keep an eye on you! If I have to watch you and your new little _pets_," he spat the word "then I want to see action, NOT drama!" he shouted. Drew glared.

"What _drama_?" Drew asked. Rock sneered as he jabbed a finger at something behind Drew. He traced Rock's finger to the TV screen in the other room where May was being shown. Drew growled.

"Again, I ask…what _drama_?" he growled. Rock glared.

"You know exactly what I mean. Don't fall for it, _Drew_, she's just like the rest of them." Drew winced.

"_No, she's not. She's different…they're all different!"_ he wanted to scream, but he wouldn't dare. He knew in his heart that he could never trust May...no matter how much he wanted to. He felt his eyes burn, but he would not cry—not in front of Rock.

"You're silence tells me that you know it's true. Now continue on, and no detours this time!" Rock spat, he sneered one last time as he walked away. Drew turned to the TV screen. May had beaten Dawn…and he had missed the whole battle. All because Rock had come to break his little allusion. His eyes started to burn again, he tried to hold them back but a few tears escaped anyway. He sensed that he was no longer alone; however he was not facing the newcomer either.

"Drew, did you see it?! I actually won!" May exclaimed. Drew remained silent, so she continued.

"Dawn put up an amazing fight! I don't know how I won…but I'm so excited! I'm going to the next round, isn't that great?!" May exclaimed. Drew remained silent.

"…Drew?" May asked. Finally, he turned and walked past her. He tried to hide his face, but May could tell he'd been crying. She stood, speechless as she watched him walk away and into the crowd of eager coordinators.


	14. Party Crasher

_**Chapter Fourteen: Party Crasher**_

"And the winner is…Drew!" Marian cried. The crowd went wild. May watched, from backstage, as Drew took a bow. She turned to find him walking into the room. She ran over to him.

"Good job." She said. He nodded. They were interrupted by Marian's voice.

"And now, the pairings for the next round!" she cried. Everyone watched as the last four coordinators were shown on the screen. May and Drew were not battling.

"If we both win, we can have a battle. Then I can show you a couple of my other pokemon." May said as she ran on stage for her battled. Drew looked up at the screen. He sat down in front of it and watched as May battled her opponent. A red beam of light revealed Riolu.

"Rio!" his pokemon cried. Drew patted him on the head.

"What have I done, Riolu?"

* * *

"Skitty! Blizzard!" May cried.

"Quilava, Flamethrower!"

"Beautifly, Psychic!" May cried. The flamethrower was sent right back to Quilava as the Blizzard hit Ledian.

"And, time's up! Let's see who goes on to the final round!" Marian cried. The winner's picture showed up on the screen.

"And it's May!" Marian cried.

"Yay, May!" Max cried, Sophie cheering beside him.

"That was a great battle!" Dawn said excitedly—now in the audience.

"Yes it was!" Misty agreed.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried.

"Bravo!" Ash cried, Brock nodded.

May returned her two pokemon after she had bowed to the cheering crowd. She walked backstage and saw Drew walking up to her. As they passed, she whispered:

"Good luck." He nodded and continued to the stage. May turned into the back room. She watched as Drew's Roserade and Butterfree took on his opponent's Linoone and Charizard. Despite the fire type-advantage, Drew was winning. May was watching the clock, if Drew won she would get to battle him. She was both excited and worried—Drew was good, REALLY good. Marian's voice snapped her out of it.

"And the winner is, Drew!" she cried. May sighed, she knew it would happen. But she still wasn't sure if she was more excited or worried. She stood, deciding that she would be focused instead. She walked toward the stage entrance. As the light revealed her, she heard the crowd cheering—she could make out Max and Sophie who were the loudest, making her smile.

"And…begin!" Marian cried.

"Glaceon, Wartotle! Take the stage!" May cried.

"Let's go, Roserade! Flygon!" Drew cried.

"Flygon, Flamethrower!"

"Glaceon, Dig! Wartortle, Rapid spin!" May cried. Glaceon dodged under the ground just before the flames hit. Wartortle withdrew into its shell and came, spinning toward Flygon.

"Roserade, Razor Leaf!"

"Wartortle, Water Pulse!" May cried. To Drew's surprise, the Water Pulse came shooting out of Wartortle's spinning shell hitting not only the Razor Leaf, but both of his pokemon as well. As his pokemon were caught up in the water attack, Glaceon shot out of the ground and used Iron Tale on Flygon. Drew lost a lot of points as May's pokemon hopped back to their starting positions.

"Try attacking me again, Drew!" May cried.

"I will! Roserade, Magical Leaf! Flygon, Dragon Breath!" Drew cried. The Dragon Breath met the Magical Leaf and the two attacks intensified as they came toward May's pokemon.

"Water Pulse! Sheer Cold!" May cried. Wartortle sent a huge wave that was frozen by Glaceon's attack. The combination created a giant wall that blocked Drew's attack from hitting. But as the ice wall shattered, Flygon appeared, charging a hyper beam that went straight for Glaceon.

"Dig!" May cried, but Glaceon had no time as the beam hit. May's points decreased.

"Glaceon, can you get up?" May asked. Her pokemon nodded as she gritted her teeth. May sighed, relieved.

"Leaf Frenzy!" Drew cried. The attack was heading for Wartortle. It was then that May realized that Flygon was still on her side of the stage.

"Wartortle! Ice Beam on Flygon!" May cried. Wartortle seemed to get the idea as he dodged the attack, leaping onto Flygon's back. Surprised, the dragon pokemon had no time to act as Ice Beam hit him dead on the neck. Drew lost points.

"Flygon, snap out of it! Get in the air!" Drew cried. Immediately, Flygon flew up high—startling Wartortle.

"Wartortle, jump!" May cried. Her pokemon obeyed, and jumped right into Roserade's line of fire.

"Solar Beam!" Drew cried. Roserade leapt into the air, charging its attack.

"Ice Beam!" May cried. But she was too late as Wartortle was knocked out…mid-air.

"WARTORTLE!" May cried, returning him just before he hit the ground.

"And May's first pokemon is out for the count!" Marian cried.

"Ice Beam!" May cried. Glaceon ran up to Roserade, just as she was landing, and unleashed a powerful Ice Beam that knocked Roserade into the wall.

"And look at this! Drew's Roserade is knocked out of the battle as well!" Marian cried. May gave Drew time to return his pokemon.

"Flygon, Steel Wing!"

"Dig!" May cried. Her pokemon disappeared underground. Flygon stopped mid-attack. And hovered above the center of the stage.

"Shadow Ball!" May cried. Glaceon shot out of the ground already charging its next attack right under Flygon.

"Flamethrower!" Drew cried. The two attacks met, creating an explosion. Both coordinators lost points.

"Time's up!" Marian cried. Glaceon and Flygon returned to their trainers sides as the winner was about to be announced. There was a pause as the judges looked at the points each coordinator possessed. It seemed they were arguing about something.

"Judges..?" Marian asked. Finally, Mr. Contesta stood.

"We have a tie." He announced.

"So…who gets the ribbon?" Max asked.

"This ribbon is awarded to both of you." Marian said to the two coordinators as they stood in the middle of the stage.

"No it doesn't." May said. Marian stared at her. May continued.

"I have enough ribbons, Drew has none. He deserves it." May said. Drew gave her a shocked look. Marian smiled.

"That's very grown up of you, May." She said.

"It has been decided that the contest ribbon shall go to Drew!" Marian cried. The crowd cheered as Drew took the ribbon from Marian.

"Great battle, Drew." May said, holding out her hand. There was a pause, and then Drew smiled at her.

"You too, May." He said as he shook it. The crowd cheered on.

Rock watched the scene on stage from behind the crowd, a sneer on his face. He turned and disappeared, into the shadows.

* * *

"Sophie, have you seen Drew?" May asked. There was a party after the contest, and so far she hadn't seen Drew anywhere.

"No, maybe he left something in the back room." Sophie suggested.

"Thanks, I'll look." May said. She turned and walked out of the hall. She hadn't noticed the person watching her from the shadows. As she disappeared down the hall, he sneered.

"Let's see, who to have fun with?" it was then that he spotted the Charizard Drew had battled in the contest—that was one strong pokemon.

"Ok, my little friend. Let's see this place burn." He said as a Shuppet appeared next to him.

"Shuppet!"

Drew was just drifting to sleep when he heard the screams. He hadn't gone to the party, so he had returned to the pokemon center where they were staying for an early night's sleep. At the sound of the screams he jumped out of the bed and ran for the window. People were running through the streets. Confused, he turned his gaze to what they were running from. Horror gripped him as he recognized the Contest Hall. Only barely, however, because it was up in flames. Drew ran out of the room and down the hall, through the lobby, and into the street. He ran, pushing people out of his way, toward the burning building…until he recognized one of the runners.

"SOPHIE!" Drew cried as he grabbed her, he could see Max close behind. Sophie looked at him with a look of terror.

"What happened?!" Drew asked.

"Charizard! He went mad! The whole building's on fire!" She cried.

"Where are the others?!"

"I don't know! I saw them earlier…" she broke off as her terror was joined by a sudden shock.

"And?!" Drew cried.

"May! She was looking for you right before the fire started! She was heading for the back room! I haven't seen her since!" Sophie cried.

"Find the others, get out of here!" Drew cried as he ran from her.

"Drew! Don't!!" Sophie cried as he ran toward the building. He ignored her, he ignored Officer Jenny, he ignored everyone. He ran straight into the open doors. Imagining the Contest Hall as it was, and not as it looked to him now, Drew ran for the hall that led to the back room. He'd been in a burning building before—he knew he didn't have much time. He kept running down the hall until he reached the door that led to the back room.

He couldn't recognize the room he'd spent so much time in. He searched, trying to remember what it had looked like. The ceiling was starting to collapse.

"MAY!" Drew cried over the roaring flames. He heard something then. It was faint, but loud enough for him to follow. It was May. He found her in a corner, barely awake. Drew picked her up and ran from the room. As he ran down the hall, he heard the ceiling collapsing behind him. Running faster, he found the lobby. The front entrance was blocked. Remembering another exit, Drew ran across the lobby into another hall. He took a right, dodging several flaming boards that were falling from the ceiling. As soon as he found the door, he grabbed the bar and pushed it open—ignoring the burning in his hand. As he leapt out of the building he heard the ceiling behind him collapsing to the ground. Panting, he fell to his knees, May still in his arms.

"Very nice, I would have suggested not grabbing the metal door though—could have saved you a lot of pain." Drew lifted his head to glare at Rock.

"Got bored did you?" he asked angrily, Rock smiled.

"Naturally. We were just having a little fun." He said as he gestured to his Shuppet.

"You wanted her dead didn't you." Drew said.

"Naturally."

"So you waited until she was alone."

"Naturally."

"And you took the Contest Hall as well so I wouldn't be tempted again."

"Oh, Drewsy, you know me too well!" Rock cried, a fake-flustered look on his face.

"You're sick."

"No, I just do what I like." Rock said, Drew snarled.

"Blade told you I was traveling with her."

"Oh yes, so I thought I'd have fun with it! But then you spoiled it…although that was an epic rescue." Rock said.

"I hate you."

"Of course you do! You always have! But don't worry, my boy, I hate you too!" Rock exclaimed in a cheery voice.

"Shut up, Rock." Drew said. Rock laughed.

"As you wish, have fun Drewsy!" And with that, Rock disappeared into the shadows once more.

* * *

**A/N: **That was a bit short...huh? But I didn't know how to write what's coming up in this chapter. So I decided to start the next chapter with it! Have I confused you yet? If you know what the heck is going on with Drew then you must be psychic...cause you're not _supposed_ to know what's going on yet...

Anyways, Review! And, as always, Happy Reading!


	15. The Unexpected

_**Chapter Fifteen: The Unexpected**_

Hours had gone by, and Drew had been sitting in the same spot, one he wished he wasn't in—the hospital's waiting room. Everyone that had been in the fire had to visit and get checked for anything that could be wrong with them. Most problems were smoke inhalation or just plain shock. A few had been scratched, maybe bruised. Of course May was the worst, she was the target for pokemon's sake! Drew sighed, he was starting to get the feeling that Sophie was right. The more he thought about it, in fact, the more angry at himself he became. He heard someone come in the room, but he didn't have to look up to see who it was—she wasn't happy.

"So, _this_ is for the good of Sinnoh? Oh, or is this just a little game? Because, you know, people's lives are just oh so _fun_ to play with!" Sophie spat. Drew cringed, but said nothing. Sophie happily continued.

"She almost _DIED_, Drew! Doesn't that mean _anything_ to you?!" Drew started to feel his eyes burn, but he was a master at hiding his feelings. His face remained blank. He could tell that Sophie was struggling to keep her voice at a low enough volume so that nobody else would here—however, making sure that that volume was still loud enough for her to successfully yell at him made this "conversation" much harder for her. Finally, she seemed to get a grip on herself, Drew felt her sit on the chair next to him. He turned to look her in the eyes.

"She cares about you." Sophie whispered, Drew looked away.

"Drew, she was looking for you. That's how Rock got her trapped—he waited until she was alone." Drew was starting to rethink telling Sophie who it was that had started the fire, but he knew that—no matter how much he _didn't _want to hear any of what Sophie was saying—he had to hear this.

"Drew…I know you care about her too." That was where Drew couldn't hold it.

"Shut _up_, Sophie!" he cried. He knew she wouldn't do what he said, but he wasn't expecting her to yell back.

"Who's side are you _on_, Drew?! Those who don't give worth a _crap_ about you or those who give _more_?!" Sophie cried. The burning in Drew's eyes raged at this. He struggled to keep a blank face, but he'd slipped up—and a very angry Sophie had seen it.

"Do you even know?!" she cried.

"NO!" Drew shouted, Sophie was quiet so he continued.

"Sophie, it's all so easy to you. But it's not as easy for me. If I betray the Academy, I'm giving up the only place I know where I fit in."

"That's absurd, Dr—"

"No, Sophie it's not. At the Academy I know who's who, how things are done, my history, everyone else's history, I _know_ things. I am somebody. But if I give up the Academy I'm just back to being a kid with no memory of who he is, where he came from, or what he heck he's doing." When Sophie remained silent, Drew continued.

"Heck, Sophie, I don't even know what's right anymore."

"Yes you do. You just don't want it to be true." Sophie said softly, Drew's burning eyes began to water. He remained silent, desperately trying not to cry. Sophie continued.

"The Academy is evil, Drew. And you know it."

* * *

There were voices, but they all seemed blurred together. There was darkness, were her eyes working? Uggh…and why did she feel so…weak? She groaned and the blurred voices paused, but after a while they continued on. To her amazement, they weren't blurred this time.

"Is she ever gonna wake up?"

"Patience, Max. The doctor said she would any minute now."

"I keep thinking she's awake and then she's not." That voice! It was Max! She recognized it now. And the other…Brock maybe?

"I feel horrible! If only we'd made sure she was with us!" Her senses must have started returning because it didn't take her long to recognize Dawn.

"It's ok, Misty, she'll be ok." That was Ash. But Misty hadn't said anything, was she crying? Oh she'd feel horrible if her friend was crying. But…what were they talking about? What happened?

"Where did Sophie go?" Max asked.

"I think she went to find Drew." Dawn answered.

"Well where did Drew go?"

"I haven't seen him since he woke up. I think the nurse was gonna check on him again." Brock answered. Checked on him again? What was that supposed to mean? Was he hurt? Now she was worried. She had to know what was going on. She tried to ask but it sounded more like another groan. The room fell silent again. She then realized that it was so dark because her eyes had been shut. As she opened them, she was only blinded again—this time by light.

"May? Are you awake?" she heard Dawn ask. She groaned again before she seemed to find her voice.

"What…what…happened?"

"May!" she heard Max cry before she saw his face.

"Max…"

"Oh, May, I was so worried about you! I was wondering if you'd never wake up!" Max sobbed, May found the strength to hug him. Then she asked again.

"What…happened?"

"Oh, May it was awful! The contest hall went up in flames, and everyone ran away and then I found Sophie and then together we found the others but we couldn't find you! And then everyone was told to go to the hospital and we still didn't find you until Drew came and he had you but you were unconscious and…and then he was unconscious! It was scary, May!" Max sobbed.

"Why were we unconscious..?" May asked.

"You two both breathed in too much smoke. Somehow Drew got here with you before he blacked out. He didn't get as much of it as you so he woke up first. But now you're both awake." Brock explained.

"And you have no idea how relieved we are for that!" Ash cried.

"But I never found him. I don't think he was even at the party." May said.

"He wasn't." Max said "He ran in to get you out after the fire had started." May's eyes grew wide. It seemed as if she owed Drew her life…again.

* * *

"Just a scratch here and there. And it seems we've got enough oxygen in you. I think you're good to go, missy." The nurse said to May. She smiled at the kind lady.

"Thank you!" May cried as she exited the small office where the nurse had checked her. As she entered the hallway she came face-to-face with Drew. She smiled at him.

"I guess I owe you big time, huh?" she asked. Drew sighed.

"I wish you didn't."

"I'll take that as a yes." May said cheerily.

"Whatever you say." Drew said, shrugging.

"So now that I can leave, what do you think we're going to do?" May asked. Drew was about to tell her that they would continue to Lake Verity when he stopped himself—did he want to continue the mission to the lakes? His pause caused May to frown.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah."

"Are you sure..? Cause last time you stared off into space you broke through "the wall" and ended up—"

"I'm not thinking _that_ hard!" Drew interrupted.

"Oh…ok. So I don't have to get ready to catch you or anything, right?" May asked. Drew gave her a puzzled look.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well if you fell, I'd want to be ready to catch you." May answered. Drew stared at her. After a while she was expecting some kind of snide remark. None came. She eventually broke the silence.

"I wouldn't want you to get hurt." May said. She wasn't expecting for him to hug her. Maybe some kind of acknowledgment to what she'd said was expected, but she hadn't expected a hug. But that's what he did. After a few seconds, she hugged him back.

"Thank you." Drew whispered. May wasn't sure what was going on exactly, but she decided to just go with it. She smiled.

"You're welcome."

* * *

**A/N:** Dun dun DUN! Wow, I wish I could see the looks on your faces when the newest little fun-fact about the Academy showed up. Unless, of course, you're psychic and know even more about what's going to happen than i do... 0.o

But anyways, if you _are _confused--like I hope you are--then not to worry! By the end of either the next chapter or the chapter after that (depends on what I end up writing) you will understand completely. So please keep reading! Oh, and reviewing is good too (hint, hint, nudge, nudge)

Happy Reading!


	16. Reflection

_**Chapter Sixteen: Reflection**_

"Are you going to tell me or not?"

"May, I already said it was nothing."

"Yeah? Well I say it's something." Sophie groaned, the day of no arguing was over, and so May and Drew were back to doing just that. She was lucky that they hadn't started shouting yet.

"What are you two arguing about now?" she asked.

"I asked Drew what happened to his hand, but he won't tell me." May explained. As she gestured to Drew's gauze-wrapped hand, he hid it in his pocket.

"It really is nothing, May. I wasn't thinking, that's all." Drew mumbled. Sophie raised her eyebrows at him, suddenly realizing what had happened.

"You didn't burn it did you?" she asked. As Drew winced May's eyes widened.

"Did you burn you hand in the fire?!" she asked, horror stricken. Drew sighed.

"Alright, I couldn't get out of the front door because it was blocked so I used the other exit and burned my hand when I opened the door, ok? Like I said, I wasn't thinking."

"Didn't have the time to think is more like it." Sophie commented.

"Drew, why didn't you tell m—" Drew cut May off.

"Because you would do exactly what you're doing now."

"What?"

"Worry."

"So what if I'm worried? I would think I have every right to be."

"You shouldn't be."

"Yes I should."

"No."

"Yes."

"NO"

"YES"

"NO!"

"Shut _UP_!" Sophie cried, plugging her ears. She was amazed at the silence that followed her outburst. May was the one to speak up first.

"Now I owe you even more…" she sighed.

"Oh for the love of Arceus, May! A 'thank you' is all I need, really." Drew cried. Suddenly, Sophie had an idea—one she couldn't help but share.

"Hey, May? Why don't you take Drew with you when you go shopping with Misty and Dawn? I bet he'd love that!" she suggested. Drew glared at her, she smiled back at him devilishly.

"Great idea, Sophie! Drew, will you come? Please, oh please, oh pleeeeeeeaaaaaaase?!" May begged. His answer was no, he'd already made up his mind. But then…he looked at her hopeful face and wasn't sure exactly how what happened next came to be.

"Sure, May. Sounds fun." He answered. She squealed with glee as she ran off to tell Misty and Dawn. When she was out of earshot, Sophie laughed.

"You are SO fun to mess with!" she cried as she, too, left Drew to his shock at what he'd just said.

* * *

"Why do you always wear black?" May asked. Drew sighed, she'd been trying to get him to buy something all afternoon. Now she was on to clothes.

"I mean, you know what would look good with that black shirt? Purple!" May cried.

"I am _not_ wearing purple." Drew said. But May was already handing him a purple shirt.

"And you know what else? You need jeans!" May cried. Drew followed her as she skipped over to the jean section.

"May, I am _not_ wearing purple and I am _not_ wearing—"

"Here we go!" May cried as she shoved a pair of jeans into Drew's hands. "Now go try that on." She ordered.

"Are you even listening to me?! And what kind of jeans are these?" Drew asked.

"Blue jeans." May said simply.

"More like green jeans." Drew grumbled.

"They're blue! Now go try it on!" May cried. Drew sighed, as annoyed as he was he knew he wasn't getting out of this.

"Fine. But I won't like it." he answered as he stalked off toward the changing room. May smiled, she had won.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Drew was looking at himself in the mirror outside the dressing room. He was wearing the clothes that May had forced him to try on. Only his black turtleneck remained underneath the purple button-up shirt with the blue (as May called them) jeans. He didn't want to admit it, but May had done a good job. He was starting to grow on the new outfit. He saw May's reflection in the mirror before she spoke.

"That looks great on you, Drew!" she said walking up to stand next to him. He said nothing, so she continued.

"See? Now you look like a normal person." Drew stared at his reflection as May's words sunk in.

"…_a normal person." _

Sophie was right, and he knew it. The Academy was evil…did that mean he was evil? Did it mean that everyone else wasn't? Was it all a lie? He apparently looked like a normal person…but was that what he really was? Was May a normal person? If so, then he was starting to get the feeling that he wanted to be a normal person. But if being a normal person meant being against the Academy, then did it mean to be a good person? This lead him back to the question of him being evil; or did wanting to be normal mean he was a good person?

"Drew? Are you ok?" May asked. He hadn't realized that his eyes had started to burn again.

"_Damn it, I hate all this crying!"_ Drew thought. He hadn't tried stopping it yet, apparently it was too late for that.

"Drew, don't cry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings!" May looked worried as she attempted to calm Drew down.

"_Oh forget it! I give up!"_ Drew thought. He felt himself leaning into May. She held him there for a moment, before he started to sink to the ground. She followed him until they were both sitting on the floor. He continued to let himself cry on her shoulder. She said nothing as she continued to hold him. Finally he spoke.

"I'm so sorry, May." Drew whispered.

"For what?" she asked softly.

"For how much you're going to hate me."

* * *

Drew was sitting in a corner, staring at the floor. May was sitting on her bed with Max. Brock and Ash had joined Misty on her bed while Dawn sat on the ladder that led up from Misty's bed to hers. Sophie was sitting on the floor. All eyes but Drew's were on her. She hated so much attention. But Drew couldn't possibly explain this the way she could. And they had agreed that the others needed to know everything. She took a deep breath.

"I told you before that Drew and Thorn had no memory of their lives before my father took them in at the Academy." She started. Max nodded.

"Yeah, that's why they have weird names. Because they both chose the last words they remembered." He said, Sophie nodded. She expected Drew to glare at Max; but, as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, she saw that he hadn't moved.

"Yes, and then Drew remembered his name at the beach." She said. May mumbled something about having to learn names all over again, but Sophie ignored it and continued.

"Drew told May about the wall, but I don't think any of the rest of you know about it. Whenever Drew or Thorn try to remember something, it feels to them like some kind of wall of thorns is blocking their memory. We call it 'the wall' because of that. Neither of them has ever broken through the wall…until twice of late…" Sophie turned her gaze to Drew who was still staring at the floor.

"Twice? Did Drew remember something else?" Dawn asked.

"A dream." May answered.

"One that had to do with his lost memory?" Misty asked.

"Yes. Now I still don't know exactly how the wall got there. But I think that Drew and I both have a pretty good idea." Sophie cut in. May say Drew cringe.

"And that idea would be?" she asked. Sophie turned to look her straight in the eye.

"My father put it there."

* * *

**A/N:** In the chapter that introduced Drew, he was wearing black. I never changed that, and I hoped that you all understood that he hadn't changed. It was when I was thinking of how to get to the room scene that I realized how reminding you all of what he had been wearing was the perfect way to introduce that scene! And besides, wouldn't anyone miss Drew's real outfit? Lol, well I did! ^^

Happy Reading! And don't forget to have some Happy Reviewing too!!!!!


	17. Roahn

**A/N:** Hey guys. I just wanted to point out some pronunciation. As you can see, the title of this chapter is "Roahn." You may not know why now, but you will very shortly. So I just wanted to say that "Roahn" is pronounced like ROME only with an N instead of an M. So not ROWAN or ROHAN or anything like that. Got it? Good. Anyways, Happy Reading!

* * *

_**Chapter Seventeen: Roahn**_

The room was silent—dead silent. May stared at Drew. His hands were in fists, so tight that his knuckles had gone white. The silence lasted for so long that Max's whisper could have hurt any of their ears.

"Why…?" he asked. It was the question on everyone else's mind too. Drew had spoken of Sophie's father, Noir. Everything he had said had hinted that he had a high respect of the Academy's leader. None of them had expected for Sophie to accuse him of such a thing. Sophie didn't expect Drew to answer.

"That's a great question, Max, but let me add on." There was a hint of anger in Drew's voice "Why would someone erase my memory? Why would they lie to me? And why the _hell_ would they twist every fact about the world?!" Drew was shouting now. Sophie opened her mouth, but Drew cut her off.

"No, Sophie, I don't give a crap anymore! You want to know why the Contest Hall burned?!" Drew cried. "It was because one of my FREAKING _FELLOW_ _MEMBERS_ WANTED TO KILL MAY!" Drew cried. May's eyes grew wide. Max gaped as Misty gasped. Drew continued.

"Oh yeah, and in the kitchen—you know at the GREATEST FREAKING HOTEL IN ALL OF FREAKING SINNOH?!" Drew cried. Nobody interrupted him. He continued.

"Another of my _oh so WONDERFUL_ fellow members tried to abuse her. Isn't THAT special?!" Drew cried. May looked down at her feet. She had convinced Drew to go with her story that she had slipped. Nobody else—but Sophie—had known it was actually Blade. Max gave her a horrified look.

"Why is it always you?" he asked.

"Because she's the only traveling partner I have that they know about! And they want her dead, now isn't that just _PEACHY_?! Oh, but I was _foolish_ enough to believe that YOU WERE THE FREAKING BAD GUYS! Ha! What an IDIOT, right?!"

"Drew! You're only confusing them more!" Sophie shrieked.

"WELL THEY CAN JOIN THE DAMN CLUB!" Drew cried.

"Just let me explain the story, ok?!" Sophie cried back. Drew bit his lip and turned his glare to the floor. After a few moments, Sophie sighed.

"Ok, so I better explain what Drew is _trying_ to say." Sophie said. Drew glared at her, but she continued.

"The story that Drew and Thorn were told was that they were both found unconscious—Thorn, just outside of Hearthome and Drew, on the Valor Lake Front." Sophie explained "Blade—an admin to the Academy—found Drew. Rock—another admin—found Thorn." Drew made a scoffing noise when Sophie explained who Blade was.

"When both awoke, they had no memory of who they were or where they came from. My father searched endlessly for their families, but neither was found. There were no records of either child. And so he took them in as new members of the Academy."

"Yes, that's the story you told us." Brock said. Sophie shook her head.

"We didn't tell you everything…" she sighed.

"What is there left to tell?" Misty asked.

"Drew and Thorn were told that anyone outside of the Academy was brainwashed, that the government—that was evil—had done so to them and that the Academy was a group of rebels that had escaped. They were undercover as the Academy, a school, so that they would not be discovered. But the Academy went by a different name, one that Drew did not use because he was told that—no matter how nice a person was to him, they would turn him in to the government to be brainwashed at a single mention of it. That name, is Roahn." At Sophie's last word, Dawn gasped.

"Roahn?! That group of criminals that's been trying to take over Sinnoh for years?!" She cried; her eyes were filled with terror.

"Now you see why they wanted us to say 'the Academy'." Drew mumbled.

"Dawn, calm down. Let Sophie finish." May said.

"Ok…" Dawn said "but I don't trust him!" she cried as she pointed at Drew.

"You aren't the only one, what else have you lied about?!" Ash cried. Drew, who had looked angry for quite some time, gave Ash the saddest look May had ever seen.

"I was the one that robbed the seal shop. I was the one that posed the threat to the mall. And those weren't the worst things I've done." He whispered.

"Drew that's not—" Sophie started, but Drew cut her off again.

"No, Sophie, it is true. Watching and doing nothing is worse than causing the pain." Drew said. He looked back to Ash.

"You want the truth? I've seen buildings burn before—I've helped start the fire myself. I've seen people killed, and I've let them all die. I've watched Roahn torture people like you—innocent people who never did anything to deserve what they got. I've watched and done nothing as Sinnoh has been ravaged by the very same people that made up what I called home. And I've helped them do it." Drew said quietly. His sad eyes were distant, as if remembering the things he explained. The room was silent again. Finally, Ash broke it.

"Then we have every right not to trust you!" He shouted as he lifted his hand. But before he could so much as even touch Drew, he felt someone grab his wrist—hard.

"NO!" May shrieked as she threw Ash's hand down.

"May, he deserves it!" Ash cried.

"CAN'T YOU SEE HOW MUCH HE _HATES_ ROAHN?!" May shrieked "CAN'T YOU SEE ALL THE PAIN THIS CONVERSATION HAS CAUSED HIM?!"

"Why would he not be lying now?" Ash asked. May flinched. She remembered something Drew had told her after the flood:

"_I've lied before, I'm rather good at it actually."_

May wanted to keep shrieking, she wanted to shout at Ash for accusing Drew of such a thing. But pain sliced through her like a knife as she realized that his accusation wasn't far from being very likely.

"Drew…" May whispered, he looked up and into her eyes. It was as if he could read her mind. Before anyone—even Sophie—could stop him, he stood and opened the door as if he were about to leave. He paused, for only a second, before he turned and looked straight at May.

"Everything I've said tonight is true. Everything I've done is because of how I truly feel." He then turned and slammed the door behind him. He was gone. It took her a while, but May finally found her voice. She glared at Ash.

"Now look what you've done." She said.

"Me? You helped!" Ash cried.

"Stop it!" Sophie cut in, the two turned to her and she continued. "Drew can take care of himself. You still don't know everything and I'd like it very much if you did."

"See, Ash?! You scared him off and we don't even know the whole story!" May cried.

"We know enough!" Ash growled.

"This is why he was afraid, Ash!" May cried, realizing what she said only as she said it. "He was afraid to tell us anything because he thought that this is exactly what would happen! He's still the same person you trusted only a few minutes ago!"

"He _lied_ to us!" Ash cried.

"Of course he did! The whole point of this conversation is so that he could confess to all his lies, Ash! What, are you stupid?!" May cried. Tears had started to stream down her cheeks.

"No, I'm not! He could have killed us, May!" Ash cried. Sophie tried to say something, but May beat her to it.

"Then why did he feel so horrible when he thought the flood had killed us?" May asked. The room was silent. Even Ash didn't know what to say to that.

"I'm going to find him. And when I do, you _better_ apologize!" She cried. And with that she too left the room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

It took her a while—especially since it was getting darker outside—but May eventually found Drew by one of the Hearthome City fountains. He was sitting on a park bench, staring as the fountain's water as it flowed up and down. May walked over to where he sat. He didn't acknowledge that she was there and his gaze was distant again. She decided to get his attention.

"Drew?" He turned to look at her. They made eye contact before he turned his gaze back to the fountain.

"Drew, can I sit down?" May asked. He moved over and she sat next to him. After a few moments of silence she turned to him.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked. Drew shut his eyes and remained silent for a long while. Finally, he spoke.

"Why did you come?" he asked, changing the subject. He was successful.

"I should have defended you." May blurted "I don't know why I didn't. Ash is just so—"

"May, you had every right not to defend me. Ash had every right to shout at me." Drew cut in.

"No, I didn't and no, he didn't. Sophie hasn't even finished explaining everything and—"

"After everything I just said in there, you're still on my side?" Drew asked. May was taken aback.

"Yes…" she answered "I trust you Drew, why wouldn't I be on your side?" She wasn't expecting Drew to be angry.

"WELL YOU SHOULDN'T TRUST ME!" he shouted. May was silent, Drew looked away.

"Drew…" May reached out to put her hand on his shoulder. He jerked away.

"DON'T TOUCH ME, MAY!" he cried. May pulled away. She turned her gaze back to the fountain. They sat there in silence. May tried to think of something to say next. Finally, she spoke.

"Why shouldn't I trust you after you've saved me so many times?" May asked, Drew said nothing so she continued.

"Why shouldn't I trust you when…when I know you care about me?"

"How do you know I wasn't lying?" Drew asked. May smiled.

"Because you never actually answered, your embarrassment gave it away." She said. She waited for Drew to say something. He turned to look at her again, but remained silent.

"Drew, come back." May said "Come back to the room. Let Sophie finish. I won't let Ash yell at you anymore." She held out her hand to him. He hesitated, but slowly reached for it. Before he could grasp it, however, May felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her. She screamed, but was cut off when her mouth was covered. Terror gripped her as she heard a voice behind her.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here!"

"Let her go." Drew growled. Blade laughed.

"See, that's funny!" he cried "You really think I'm going to listen to you? Don't make me laugh, _Drew_."

"What do you want?" Drew asked.

"Funny you should ask…" May felt something cold and thin being held under her neck. Tears ran down her face as she realized that it was a knife. Her eyes had not left Drew, she saw the look of fear that flashed across his face. Blade saw it too. He laughed.

"You see, Drew, I've actually come for you." Blade sneered. Drew said nothing, so he continued.

"So either come with me, or your little girlfriend won't see tomorrow." Drew glared at Blade as May struggled to hold back another set of tears.

"Drew, don't!" She cried, but the cold pressure on her neck intensified. May whimpered.

"Fine. Just let her go." Drew growled. Blade laughed as May was forced to the ground. As Blade walked over to Drew, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. He collapsed to the ground, his vision was blurring. He could hear May's scream echo around him. He then heard another voice—one he recognized.

"Sweet dreams, Drewsy." Rock sneered as darkness consumed him.


	18. Choices and Realization

_**Chapter Eighteen: Choices and Realization**_

Pounding. His head was pounding. He started to move, but it hurt too much. He was in the process of attaining full consciousness when he realized he was lying on concrete. It was cold and hard, it must have taken a great effort for him to fall asleep here. Then again…how _had_ he fallen asleep? And…where _was_ he? It took him a while for his eyes to get used to the dark after he had opened them. He blinked, trying desperately to ignore the pounding in his head that just seemed to continue on and on forever. He was in a room. It had a giant window and a door. That was all. No furniture, nothing decorative. He'd already discovered that there was no carpet. Why did this place seem so familiar? Despite his screaming headache, he stood and stumbled over to the window. All he could see was another room, this one with a tile floor. There was a huge control panel with all sorts of security images coming from cameras. There were several levers and buttons as well, there were also several chairs and a door that led to a hallway. His heart plummeted as he realized where he was:

Home.

* * *

"Thorn!" she heard his call from across the dining hall. She sighed, exasperated, at the sound of her mentor's voice. Sounded like he had a job for her, and she had just taken her break!

"What do you want, Rock?" she sighed, sensing that he'd already walked up to her.

"I have a job for you." He said. She groaned.

"_How did I know?"_ she thought.

"Don't take that tone with me, it's a simple one. No work to it at all really." He said. She could tell he was a bit agitated about her mood. Then again, he'd seemed a bit agitated with _everything_ lately.

"Fine. What is it?"

"I want you on guard duty." He said. She suppressed another groan—sure the job was easy, it was the boredom the came with it that bothered her.

"All right, I'll go. Who am I guarding?" she asked.

"That's none of your business! All that matters is that someone is being punished and you have been asked to keep them locked in! Got it?!" Rock snapped. She wasn't expecting him to be so angry.

"Ok, ok! I was just curious! I'm going, I'm going!" she said quickly as she sucked down the rest of her water and went to put away her tray. As soon as she was done, she immediately walked down the hall that led to the cell she was always assigned to guard. She took a look into the empty room. And sighed—usually she and Rat would guard together to get rid of the boredom…she missed him. She stepped onto the tile floor, closing the door behind her, and walked over to one of the chairs by the control panel. She sat there, staring mindlessly at the tv screens for anything interesting.

"_Nothing, as usual."_ She thought. She looked over at the one-way window. Whoever was inside the cell could see her but, on her side of the wall, it was a mirror. She could only see herself. It creped her out a bit, knowing this. Then again, they were where they deserved to be…right? Blade's voice caused her to jump.

"I'm here for my fun!" he exclaimed. She turned to him and glared.

"Only you would consider this job fun." She hissed. He laughed.

"Oh, silly girl! Rock would too!" she sighed, he had a point. She was just thankful that Rock wasn't quite as bad a Blade. She always felt bad for Rat—having Blade as his mentor was _not_ something he enjoyed.

"Anyways, stay back." Blade said as he unlocked the door to the cell. He didn't seem too worried about any attempted escape when he opened the door. Thorn saw him sneer into the room.

"Here I am, Drewsy!" he cried gleefully as he slammed the door behind him. Thorn felt horror yank at her heart. Why did she feel the urge to run to this Drew and help him? Why did she want to protect him? She had to hold onto the chair she sat in to keep still. She stared at her reflection, wishing now more than ever she could see through the glass. The cell was sound proof. She sat there, her heart telling her to break down the door, her mind telling her to stay where she was, watching for the door to open. Blade should have only been in there for not more than 10 minutes. But it seemed like 10 hours before she saw the knob begin to turn. As she struggled to make herself look normal when Blade opened the door, she couldn't help but notice a particularly satisfied look on the admin's face. She was just starting to feel more disgusted than horrified when something happened that neither she nor Blade was expecting.

"Thorn!" The cry was coming from inside the room. Blade growled as he slammed the door and locked it. He turned an angry gaze at her. She tried to stay a normal as possible.

"What's that look for?" she asked in a fake-bored tone. It must have worked for Blade sneered at her.

"Nothing. Continue on, Thorn." He answered as he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Thorn glanced at the security cameras to see that Blade was heading for the upstairs commons. She bolted for the door and locked it. Her heart was racing. She knew that voice. She knew that name. She had a face to match both, although she was still confused as to how he'd gotten there. She ran over to the cell door and started to pick the lock. Rock had taught her this little talent when she was younger, how ironic that she should use it against him—and Roahn. She heard a 'click' as the door unlocked. She opened the door and ran inside. She found him in the corner, leaning on the wall. She got down on her knees and pulled him over to her. Blade had beaten him up pretty badly…he didn't seem fully conscious and he was mumbling under his breath.

"Rat…Drew…oh whoever, just wake up!" Thorn cried. His eyes opened slowly as he looked up at her. She felt her eyes burn when she realized that his gaze was not directed at her. She wasn't even sure if he was really conscious. It was when she remembered the satisfied look on Blade's face and how Rock had barked at her that Thorn realized what she had to do. Drew was no longer on Roahn's side. The decision was her brother of a friend, or her loyalty to Roahn.

"Leah..?" Drew groaned. Thorn, who had let her gaze drift off into space, snapped it back down to her friend. He still seemed out of it, but he was looking at her now.

"…What…what did you call me..?" she asked, pain shot through her head as he repeated himself.

"Leah…your name…I called you…Leah…" he rasped. The pain surged even stronger than before. It was only then that Thorn realized that it was the wall. If this was truly her name, then it was triggering something—but now was not the time. As soon as she ignored it, the pain was gone.

"Come on, Drew, we have to get you out of here." She whispered. She had made her choice. A rescue attempt could be the death of her, but it was worth it. She released her Dragonite, hoisted Drew up onto it, and clambered up behind him. She held on to her pokemon, her arms keeping Drew on board.

"Get us out of here, Dragonite. Anywhere but here."

* * *

She wasn't sure what it was that woke her, the voices or the vigorous shaking. Either way, she groaned.

"Five more minutes, Mom…" she said.

"May, you're in Hearthome. Your mom's in Petalburg. Wake up." She heard Misty say. Her eyes shot open at the sound of her friend's voice. It was still dark outside. She sat up, her gaze directed at the fountain that still flowed. She looked around for Drew, remembering that she'd been talking to him on this exact bench. All she saw was Misty's worried face.

"Where have you_ been_?" Misty asked "You've been gone for more than an hour and we've been worried sick!"

"Hour?" May asked.

"Yes! Have you been sleeping here the whole time?"

"Sleeping?"

"Yes, May. You were sleeping on the bench when I found you. Where's Drew?"

"He was right…" it was then that May remembered Blade and Rock. She was immediately panic-stricken.

"Blade! Rock! Took him! I…I…." May felt near tears.

"Calm down, and don't hyperventilate. Just come back to the room with me and—"

"NO! Drew's been taken to Roahn! We need to help him, Misty!" May cried standing up. By the way she looked, Misty was worried that she'd dart away at any second. She grabbed May's shoulders.

"May, what do you think we could do? We don't even know what we're up against. Sophie needs to finish explaining everything, and then we can think of a way to save Drew. But we can't do anything without an explanation first. Come back to the room with me and tell us what happened, then Sophie can tell us everything, ok?" Misty was worried that May wouldn't come with her, she looked terrified. But she was relieved when her friend nodded her head. She put her arm around May's shoulders and led her away from the fountain and toward the pokemon center. May glanced back one last time before the bench and the fountain were out of sight.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

It was Sophie's turn to listen to May as she told everyone what had happened to Drew. Several emotions were stirring at the story. Anger, Fear, Sorrow, Guilt, and Confusion. Not the most favored mix of emotions for anyone. Sophie was feeling all but one of them. Anger at Blade and Rock, Fear for Drew's life, Sorrow for what Blade and Rock would most likely do to him, Guilt that she wasn't there to help, Confusion…she was not confused…she knew exactly what had happened and exactly what was going on. She felt the strongest urge to call Thorn and warn her, but would Thorn take her side? She knew that Drew had broken through his wall and had chosen her side, but Thorn—as far as she knew—had not so far as even made a dent in her wall.

"Sophie?" she heard Max ask. She turned to him to see that his look was of concern. That was another emotion to add to the list. But, for the moment, this concern was for her. She tried to smile.

"Yeah?"

"You've told us about the Academy…now can you tell us about Roahn?" Sophie sighed, she needed to tell them everything else. But this was the part where she could lose all of their trust. Then again, what May had told them about what had happened to Drew could keep them with her.

"Drew said a lot of things that are true." She started, when nobody tried to interrupt, she continued. "He has had to do a lot of the things he listed, but he's never actually done any of them. He spoke of helping to burn down buildings—he was told to be lookout. He has seen people killed—but he was forced to watch and forced to do nothing. In a way, he has watched as people have been tortured—he was in the next room where he'd been ordered to stand guard, he didn't know they were innocent, and most of the time he couldn't see it happen because of a one-way window. He didn't know any of it was wrong. He didn't like it, but he was told for as long as he could remember that it was the right thing to do. His outburst was because he felt guilty—now that he knows for sure that everything that was done was the completely wrong thing to do."

"But what about the seal shop?" Dawn asked.

"He was told to do that by Blade. It was the first time he'd ever hurt anyone. I remember how quiet he was the next day. He hated that job."

"Ok, then what about the mall?" Ash asked.

"Drew was told to set a bomb in the mall. However, that one he could not stand. Oh, he put a bomb in the mall, but he never set it and he was the one to call in about it for evacuation."

"Ash, you _idiot_!" May growled as she glared at him. She lunged for him but Misty pulled her back.

"May, don't! Ash was scared! You didn't even know whether or not to trust Drew when he was here!"

"At least I _tried_ to trust him!" May snarled, still fighting to break free of Misty's grip—no such luck.

"May, it's not Ash you should blame here." Misty said softly. May was silent for a while, and she had stopped struggling. Tears welled up in her eyes, this time they were of anger.

"I'll kill them. I'll kill both of them. Hell, they tried to kill me! Why shouldn't I kill them?!" May roared.

"Because that would be stooping to their level." Misty said. May rounded on her.

"SO?! MAYBE I DON'T GIVE A CRAP ABOUT WHAT LEVEL I'M ON! I WOULD RATHER SEE _THEM_ DEAD THAN HIM!" May cried.

"You aren't alone, May. But you know that's not right." She heard Sophie say from her spot on the bed next to Max. May glared at her, but before she could turn her anger at the girl she saw the pained look on her face. May walked over to her and got down onto the floor in front of her. Sophie looked about to lose it. May reached for her, but Sophie jumped off the bed and into her lap. May held her as she sobbed. Sophie had been acting so grown up lately, that it had been easy to forget just how young she really was.

"I miss him…" she sobbed. May sighed.

"So do I."

* * *

Everything around them was a blur. She heard cries of surprise as her pokemon came crashing through everything in its path out of Roahn. She could have sworn she herd several people call her name. But she ignored them. It was when she heard Rock calling to her that she had to urge Dragonite to keep going. As he burst through yet another set of doors she heard a Luxray cry out behind her. Rock was trying to stop her.

"Keep going Dragonite, don't let him catch up." She said into her pokemon's ear. He nodded and she could tell that they'd sped up. Drew was still mumbling under his breath. It was when everything around them went dark, she felt the wind on her face, and the calls sounded distant that she realized they had made it out and were gaining altitude. Dragonite had already started soaring away from Sunyshore. Knowing Noir, it wouldn't take long for him to send an aerial pursuit. They had to land, and fast.

"…Azelf…" Drew mumbled. An idea struck her then.

"Lake Valor, Dragonite. And fast."

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

They were in the cavern. Thorn wasn't sure how she'd found it, but they were there. She wasn't sure how far Drew had gotten on his mission, but the light around the cavern was red. Did that mean he had found Azelf? Or had Azelf fled? She sighed, all these questions were making her head hurt.

"_And speaking of headaches…"_ she thought about how Drew, who had been Rat, was calling her Leah, when she was Thorn. Did that mean that his name was really Drew? She had a strong feeling that it was, but she wasn't sure why. And Leah…how did she feel about that? Pain seared through her mind again at the thought of that name. This time, she pursued it. The pain surged as she pushed harder. She didn't expect to actually break through the wall—she'd never been able to do _that. _Then again, wouldn't Drew's change of name mean that he had done so? She cried out as the pain surged harder than ever befor and everything went dark.


	19. Golden Eyes

_**Chapter Nineteen: Golden Eyes**_

"_One, two, three! Get off my father's Oran tree!" she cried. Before he could get away, she had tagged his shoulder._

"_Leeeaaahh! No fair! You wouldn't let me do that to you when _you_ were on base!" Drew whined. Leah smiled devilishly at him._

"_Well you shouldn't have given in! Anyways, you're it now!" she cried gleefully. She was surprised when she felt her shoulder being slapped._

"_TAG! You're _it_!" Drew laughed as he ran off._

"_DREW! You'll PAY for that!" Leah laughed as she chased after him. It didn't take her long to catch up, he had stopped running—instead Drew had other things at his attention. He was playing with a small, blue pokemon with a red jewel in the center of its head. Its golden eyes sparkled in the afternoon sunlight as it flipped and twirled in the air._

"_Azelf!" Leah cried. She ran up to the pokemon and tapped its shoulder. It gave her a puzzled look._

"_YOU'RE IT!" she laughed. Drew laughed with her as they ran off. They could hear the pokemon crying out with excitement behind them._

"_At least you didn't tag _me_!" Drew panted next to her. Leah giggled._

"_Oh come on, Drew! What else are cousins for?!"_

_

* * *

  
_

Her eyes shot open. At first, she wasn't sure what had woken her, but she felt the shake again. She bolted up right, nearly ramming into Drew's face.

"Geeze, Thorn! You trying to kill me?!" he cried. She gave him a blank stare. A look of realization spread across his face.

"Or would you prefer that I call you Leah?" he asked. She smiled.

"How did you remember?" she asked. He sighed.

"As soon as I saw Blade come into the room, I tried breaking through the wall. I knew I'd be knocked out and that it'd hurt. So it would look like I was feeling the pain he delivered, but I actually didn't feel a thing…" he winced as he shifted position. "Until now." He added.

"What did you remember?" she asked, curious.

"The day I learned that you had disappeared." He answered. Curiosity raged insider her now.

"What happened?" she asked.

"My mother and I were supposed to meet up with you and your mother in Hearthome. When your mother came, she was late because she had been out looking for you. You had disappeared outside of Heathome. We searched for you for weeks." He said softly. After a pause he added "I think I know where you were taken: I saw this rosebush that gave me the creeps outside the same city not long ago…"

"Taken?" she asked, puzzled. Drew sighed, he could definitely tell that Leah was on his side—she had gotten him out of Roahn and into hiding after they'd beaten him, and she didn't even know what they had done to _her_.

"I need to tell you something, Leah. But you won't like it."

* * *

"May!" Max cried. She'd gone to search for Drew hours ago, and it was after the first hour that he'd started to grow worried. They'd given her another 30 minutes before going out to search for her. He shivered, it was getting really late—and cold.

"What if we don't find her?" Max asked, worried.

"Don't worry, Max. We will. I'm sure she's with Drew right now. He'd probably just being stubborn." Sophie said, although she wasn't sure herself.

"We've checked every square inch of Amity Square, and no sign of 'em." Misty panted as she came running up to them with Ash close behind.

"They aren't at the contest hall, or the Poffin House." Brock said as he came running up with Dawn.

"They're not at the church…I don't think they're even in the city, it's as if they just…disappeared…" Sophie said sadly.

"We still have one place left to check." Dawn said.

"Yeah, the fountains." Misty said.

"Alright, what are we waiting for?!" Max asked as he sprinted for the city's entrance, his friends trailing close behind him.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Max stopped in awe. The fountains were beautiful at night, lights from under the water caused every drop to sparkle and shine. It cast a soft light around the area. He was almost too awestruck to hear Sophie scream behind him. He whipped his head around to see that she was crying. Following her gaze, he fixed his own to the bottom of one of the sparkling fountains. He was too shocked to react.

"May!" Dawn cried.

* * *

Everything he'd told her about what was really happening with Roahn was still sinking in. Her heart ached as she thought of her latest mission…they'd robbed the Veilstone Department Store. Rock had told her to kill anyone that protested. All of a sudden, those dishes he'd had her do for not following orders seemed…almost satisfying. Leah blinked. Drew had said something and she hadn't heard it.

"Huh…what?" she asked. He smirked.

"I said, how is it that you know your name now?"

"Oh…" she laughed, a bit embarrassed, before she continued "I remembered playing tag with you…and you called me by name." she answered.

"Mind telling me the whole memory?" he asked. She gave him a puzzled look.

"I pulled the same thing on May—" Drew cut off, his face suddenly panic-stricken.

"May! Where is she?!" he asked.

"I don't know, I haven't seen her…" Leah said, confused. She soon wished she'd said nothing. Drew's panic seemed to switch right to pure terror on less than a second.

"What if she's still back there?! What if they have her?! We have to go back, Leah!" Drew cried. He jumped up on his feet only to sink back to the ground grimacing.

"Don't overwork yourself when we don't even know if she's back there." Leah said, placing a hand on his shoulder—if he tried to get up again, she'd have her death grip to deal with.

"I can't let them hurt her!" Drew cried.

"They won't! I don't even think they _have_ her!" Leah cried. Drew didn't seem to be letting her words get to him.

"They would kill her! I can't let—" he was cut off as Leah placed her other hand on his other shoulder and started shaking him.

"Get a _hold_ of yourself! THEY DO NOT HAVE MAY!" she cried. She paused her shaking, waiting for an answer. When he gave her none, she shook him again.

"Got it?!" she cried. Slowly, he nodded.

"Good. Calm down, and please don't freak out like that again." She said. He nodded.

"Sorry…" he mumbled. She sighed.

"What happened when they captured you?" she asked.

"Sophie and I had started to tell them what was really going on…then we got to explaining Roahn and—"

"You told them? All of them? Why would you do that?" she asked.

"Well, Leah, why would I protect the bad guys?" Drew asked. Leah blushed.

"I…I forgot…" she whispered.

"It's hard to get used to…" he said.

"Yeah…so anyways, they didn't take it well?" she asked. He winced.

"Well, some of them—no. Ash chewed me out. So I left…and then May came looking for me. She still trusts me…" he paused, his gaze somewhere Leah couldn't see. She had known Drew all of her life, she knew when something shook him. And he was the most shaken up she ever remembered seeing him.

"What else is on your mind?" she asked. He blinked and stared at her. After a long silence, he sighed.

"If forgot what it was like to be around someone who doesn't believe me when I tell them nothing's wrong." He said. She nodded, leaving only silence to urge him on. Finally, he continued. "It's just, how can she trust me when I don't even trust myself?" Drew asked "How can she possibly think that I'm a good person when I don't even know if I am? I don't understand…"

"Maybe it's because you've shown her who you actually are and not who Blade wants you to be." She said. Drew was silent.

"Only a good person could call Roahn home for ten years and still keep a record of never killing a soul." She whispered.

"Well then…I guess you're no mystery. You've passed." He said.

"Drew, I was talking about you!" she laughed.

"I know. And I was talking about you!" he answered. He smirked as a small smile crept on her face.

* * *

May groaned, she ached all over. Although, on the upside, the concrete seemed a lot…softer than before. Wait…soft? Where was she? She opened her eyes to find that she was at the pokemon center—in her own bed. Despite her body's complaints, she forced herself into a sitting position. She hadn't expected to find her first familiar face so…close.

"Rio?"

"Ah! Riolu, don't _do_ that!" she cried. The pokemon smiled at her, obviously trading off the fact that she wasn't happy with him for the fact that she was awake.

"Rio, rio RIOLU!" he cried happily as he jumped off her bed, only to jump on top of a sleeping Sophie in the bed across the room. The girl woke with a start.

"What?! What?! Who's there? Whoever you are you're o de—oh, hey May!" Sophie cried. May smiled at her, but before she could reply Sophie was already waking up Dawn, who was sleeping above her.

"Huh…wha? Oh…hey Sophie, hey May." She waited, counting down from five in her head. As she reached one, Dawn's eyes shot open and she snapped her head back over to look at her.

"MAY! YOU'RE UP!" she cried. Misty, who was sleeping above May, cried out in surprise as Dawn's shouting woke her.

"Dawn! Will you quiet d—MAY! How are you feeling? Are you alright?" May giggled—her friends had the most…_entertaining_ reactions.

"I'm a bit sore…but I should be fine." She answered. As her gaze returned to Riolu, she remembered Drew. An image of him unconscious by the fountain flashed in front of her eyes. It was her turn to ask questions.

"Where's Drew?" she asked. The room grew silent.

"Oh come on! You can't still be mad at him?! Sophie, where's Drew?"

"We were hoping you could tell us the same thing…" Sophie replied.

"Then why is Riolu here?" she asked.

"Again, we hoped you could explain." Misty sighed.

"We found you with Riolu, and when you were unconscious…well…you scared us." Dawn explained. May gave her a confused look.

"You found Riolu with me? But I don't remember Riolu being out at all…unless he got out after I was knocked out…" May said. She turned her gaze to Riolu, wishing more than anything that he could talk. But she knew that the only, even slightest, chance of that was that when he evolved he gained the ability to speak telepathically. Only a select few Lucario ever bore such a talent.

"What do you remember then?" Sophie asked. May thought hard, she remembered everything clearly—before Drew had been knocked out. Then everything seemed fuzzy…but she did remember something…something she'd seen before…

"Eyes." She said softly "Golden eyes."

* * *

"You better check on your pokemon." Leah said. Memories of 'pranks' Blade and Rock had pulled on past prisoners flooded to his mind. Their favorite was attacking their pokemon before returning to their pokeballs—leaving the owners completely unaware of their pokemon's condition. A shiver ran through him as he nodded.

"Good idea." He said. He grabbed all six of his pokeballs and released the pokemon inside. One by one, Roserade, Masquerain, Flygon, Absol, and Butterfree appeared before him. One pokeball sat on the ground, open and empty.

"Drew? Where's Riolu?" Leah asked, hoping with all her heart that he'd tell her he'd left him with May—maybe even that he'd been real beat up in a battle and was left at a pokemon center. At this point, Leah even wished that Drew had set him free. Her heart sank as Drew answered her.

"I…I don't know…" he whispered. Before he'd finished an image of two very familiar golden eyes cut through his eyes like a knife. His gaze wondered to the statue of Azelf. The shrine was glowing red.

"Here's a question…where's Azelf?"


	20. Dreaming of You

**A/N:** It's AMAZING! ASTOUNDING! INCREDIBLE! MAGNIFICENT! IT'S...IT'S...IT'S..._MY LONGEST CHAPTER EVER WRITTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

With more than 5100 words! And, it also happens to be one of the most _important_ chapters of the story!!! So: read, REVIEW, and enjoy. Oh, and another thing...HAPPY READING!!! :D

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty: Dreaming of You**_

May stared at her food; she had been hungry when she'd woken up—starving, even. But now…as she thought of the events that had occurred the night before…she had lost her appetite. She wasn't even listening to the table conversation anymore. She hoped no one would notice. Max had other plans.

"May, you haven't taken more than a bite of that waffle." He said. The constant chatter that came from her friends stopped.

"Yeah, May. You should really eat something. Remember how hungry you were?" Misty said. May sighed.

"I never said I was hungry…" she mumbled.

"No, but you're stomach never lies." Misty argued. May felt her face grow hot, she ducked her face down.

"Sometimes it does…" she mumbled. Misty was about to say something when Brock came to her rescue.

"It's ok if you're not hungry, May. Tell you what: Ash can finish your waffle, since he wants seconds anyway, and you can go get some fresh air—it's a beautiful day." May smiled gratefully at him.

"Thanks, Brock! See you guys later!" she said, and was off before anyone could say another word. Ash was already digging into her waffle. Misty rolled her eyes at him.

"You could be a bit…neater…with that, you know?" she said. Ash paused and looked up at her—daintily wiping crumbs from his face with his napkin. He then cut the waffle into several small bites and started chewing one of them. He took his time as he chewed, waiting. It finally came.

"Oh fine! It's too weird having you be polite…dig in!" Misty cried. Ash grinned and continued to shovel the waffle into his mouth. Max and Sophie laughed at their antics; however Dawn was more concerned with May.

"Should someone go talk to her?" she asked Brock.

"No, I think she needs some alone time." He answered.

"Ok…" Dawn said, her gaze never leaving the door May had exited not long ago.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Repairs to the old contest hall had already started. May couldn't get too close, the construction workers had blocked off the perimeter of the building. May watched them work, trying to remember how beautiful the hall had been. But all she could think of was her battle with Drew. It had been the most exciting battle of her career as a coordinator. Drew's skills had been equal to hers—despite how new he was to coordinating

"_ARE, Drew's skills ARE equal to mine…"_ May thought. She had to believe Drew was ok, she just had to… She felt her eyes burn and her vision blurred. She shut her eyes, breathing in the mixed scents of charred wood and sawdust. She turned from the contest hall, walking nowhere in particular. She tried desperately to think of something else, but all she could think of was him. When she shut her eyes, she saw him smiling at her. When she opened her eyes, she could hear him in her head. And all the while, her heart ached at the thought that he could be dead.

"_Was this what it was like for him? When he thought the flood had killed me?" _ She thought, remembering the night she'd woken up. She felt more tears threatening to escape as she thought of that night. He couldn't be dead. Drew had to be alive. If he wasn't…she didn't know what she'd do. It was then that her thoughts were interrupted.

"Rio?" she heard him before she felt the pokemon tap her. She looked down into his blue eyes and sighed. She picked him up, holding him at eye level.

"What are _we_ going to do?" she asked.

"Rio…" he said sadly, as his gaze met his dangling feet.

"And Sophie…she must be going through all this too…" May whispered.

"Lu." The pokemon agreed.

"What happened, Riolu? What did you see?" May asked. The pokemon stared back at her, he gave no answer. Then again, she didn't expect one. Her mindless walking had brought her to the fountains again. Riolu jumped out of her arms, running up to the fountain where she'd found Drew the night before.

"Riolu, what are you doing?" May asked, slowly following. As she came closer she saw that he was sniffing the ground, he then started running—and running fast.

"Riolu! Come back!" May cried, running after him. She followed him out of the city entrance—the same one she and her friends had walked through a few days before. She saw him run over to a bush. As she reached it, she realized that this was the same rose bush she had teased Drew for looking at so thoughtfully.

"What is it?" she asked. Riolu disappeared into the bush. After a short while, he came back, something dangling from his mouth.

"What do you have there?" May asked, taking it from him. He watched as she examined the object. It was a locket. It looked as if it had seen better years too; she could barely make out the 'L' engraved on the front. Finding the side with no hinge, she pried it open. Inside were two photos, protected by the little golden heart for years it seemed. One was of three pokemon that May couldn't recognize, and the other was of a boy and a girl. May felt shock run through her as she recognized the boy, his emerald eyes shone back at her as if nothing had happened—and for him, nothing had.

"Drew…"

"I thought you had him!" Leah cried. Drew shook his head.

"When we got to Lake Valor, I found the shrine but no Azelf. The light was green, meaning Azelf was on the lake front. I thought, since we were making a round trip, we'd come back for him."

"I know what the light means!" she cried. He stared at her.

"How do _you_ know?" he asked. She blinked and was silent for a while.

"Um…I don't know…" she said. He smirked at her.

"Well you aren't the only one, if that helps." He said. She laughed.

"I should have known. But anyways, that isn't the point. What about Mesprit? Uxie?" Drew sighed.

"I was in Hearthome." He said.

"You mean you didn't find any of them before you committed treason?" she asked. He glared at her.

"You committed treason just rescuing me."

"I never said it was a bad thing." She said "But you do know that they'll give the mission to someone else now. Probably Blade, with our luck…" she said. Drew groaned. When he gave her silence, she continued.

"Drew…I'm thinking they lied about their intentions with this too." She said. He turned his gaze to her.

"You think?"

"Why wouldn't they? They've lied about everything else." She said.

"Then they've been here already."

"We don't know that, maybe Azelf knew and fled…"

"I get the feeling that isn't the case."

"Well, how do you feel about the other scenario?" At this, Drew was silent. Finally he answered.

"Something tells me…there's a third scenario…and we should know it…but we don't."

May had spent a good hour scrubbing the locket. She'd taken the two photos out so as not to damage them. She was now rinsing the latest layer of suds off the golden heart. She watched the suds, along with more grime, spiral down the drain of her bathroom sink.

"Is that locket _sparkling_ yet?" she heard Max call from the bedroom. She ignored his emphasis on the word 'sparkling' and answered:

"One more scrub should do it." she said as she poured more soap on to the cloth she was using.

"And you found this, where?" she heard Sophie ask.

"In that rose bush Drew was looking at the other day. Riolu found it, actually." She called as she scrubbed the last of the grime out of the 'L' on the front of the heart and rinsed away the grime and suds.

"Done!" she cried, wiping the locket dry. It shone with the light from the fixture in the bathroom. She picked up the two photos from their spot on the shelf above the toilet and replaced them in their original spots. She then walked into the other room where her friends all sat.

"There we go, take a look now!" she said, handing it to Sophie. Her eyes grew wide.

"It _is_ beautiful! Great work, May!" she cried.

"And you're sure that the boy is Drew?" Ash asked.

"Oh yes, May's very right. The boy is definitely Drew and—" Sophie gasped as she stared at the photo in the locket.

"What?" Max asked, worriedly "What is it?"

"Thorn! That's Drew and Thorn!" Sophie cried.

"What?!" Misty cried. Max took a hold of the locket and turned it so that he could see.

"It IS Thorn!" he cried. May looked over at Riolu, a grin had spread across his face. He had known. She was too dumbfounded to care how or why. All she knew was that Riolu had known exactly who was pictured in that locket—without taking a look for himself.

"You knew!" May cried at him. She could sense that she was no longer the only one looking at Riolu.

"Rio! Riolu!" the pokemon cried as it nodded.

"But…but how?" Sophie asked.

"Who are the pokemon in the other photo?" Max asked. This question brought everyone's attention back to the locket that Sophie held in her hands. Everyone but May. She continued to stare at Riolu. He looked up at her and, as he did so, he blue eyes flashed gold.

"Isn't it cool how they all have golden eyes?" she heard Max ask.

"What did you say?" May asked.

"These pokemon in the other photo. They all have golden eyes." Max said. May looked back to Riolu. His blue eyes bore into her.

"Yeah…weird…" she whispered.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

She awoke to her alarm beeping obnoxiously at her. She slammed the 'off' button and got out of the bed. She walked out of her room and down the stairs. She could smell Mom's cooking before she set foot in the kitchen.

"Hello, sweetheart!" She heard her say "Going out for a walk before breakfast?"

"Um…yeah, I guess I will." May answered. As she walked out the door she thought of how strange it was that her mother had let her take such an early walk with nothing to eat. Then again, she wasn't hungry anyway right? She then realized that she was dressed, even though she didn't remember getting dressed.

"_I have GOT to be dreaming."_ She thought, remembering how she'd spent the day in Hearthome's pokemon center. Now she was in Petalburg, all the way in Hoenn. She then remembered how worried she'd been about Drew. She sighed, she was still worried.

"I don't even know how I got to sleep…" she said to nobody in particular.

"Well, first you close your eyes and then think happy thoughts. Oh, and it's easier at night." On a normal day, May would have shouted at Drew for sneaking up on her. Or maybe she would have screamed because he really had scared her. But this time, she just turned to stare at him. The all familiar smirk was plastered to his face. But as she remained silent, he frowned.

"What? Are you _that_ brain-dead?" he asked.

"It IS you!" May cried, as she attacked him with a hug. Drew stared down at her, he hadn't expected _that_. After a slight pause, she hugged her too.

"Yes…who else would it be?" he asked. He then noticed that she was sobbing.

"May? May, come on, I didn't mean to scare you _that_ badly. For Arceus' sake, stop crying."

"Why not?! I'm dreaming anyway!" she cried.

"You're dreaming?"

"Yes!" she cried.

"Huh…that's funny."

"What's funny?" May asked, looking up at him.

"Well, I was wondering why I was dreaming about Petalburg, but I guess that's your doing." He said. May gave him a puzzled look. Drew sighed.

"You see, I'm dreaming too." He said.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" May asked. He rolled his eyes. Before he could think of a good reason for her to believe him, he felt pain shoot through one of the bruises on his arm.

"OW! Don't touch that!" he cried. May jerked her hand away. It was then that she seemed to notice how many bruises Drew _had_.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

"Well you see, May, Blade isn't exactly a nice—"

"Ok, I believe you."

"Excuse me?"

"I would never dream about you getting hurt…" May whispered "Then it'd be a nightmare."

"Oh." Drew said. The two were silent for a while. The uneasy feeling got to Drew first, so he ended it.

"How about you?" he asked. She stared blankly at him.

"Huh?" Drew felt the extreme urge to roll his eyes. But seeing as how he really was concerned, he decided against it.

"You aren't hurt, are you?" he asked.

"Oh…no." May answered.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"What, are you blind now?" May asked.

"No, I don't mean here!" Drew cried "I mean where are you really?"

"Oh…uggh! This is giving me a headache!"

"Not a real one though." Drew commented. May punched him, causing him to cringe.

"I said DON'T touch that, May! Not hit as hard as you can!"

"Hearthome. Where you should be." She answered, ignoring him. Then a thought crossed her mind.

"Where are you?"

"Lake Valor." He said, still glaring at her.

"Lake Valor? How did you get there?" she asked.

"Leah."

"Who?"

"Thorn, her real name is Leah."

"Well that explains a lot!" May said excitedly. Drew stared at her.

"Have I ever told you that you are the _strangest_ and most _random_ girl I have ever met?" Drew asked.

"No, but that's not the point…"

"Alright, then tell me the point that I know your dying to tell me."

"Riolu found this locket with an 'L' engraved on it with two pictures: one of three weird pokemon and one of you and Th—Leah! Remember that rose bush you were seducing?"

"Yes I remember…HEY!"

"Well, that's where he found it!" May cried.

"So Riolu's with you?" his voice was calm, but May the worried look that flashed across his face. She hadn't thought about how worried Drew would be about his pokemon. She mentally slapped herself for not telling him sooner.

"Yes, he's with me. I think he tried to protect us…but I have no idea because they knocked me out too."

"You're lucky Rock was there."

"Who?"

"The guy that hit me over the head."

"Oh, ok…Lucky?! I don't think so! He knocked you out!"

"Yes, but he's the only one of the two that would actually keep a promise."

"Even one to us?"

"If it didn't mess with his fun, sure." He said bluntly.

"And by fun…what exactly are you referring to?" May asked, scared to know the answer.

"Beating me senseless is pretty high on the list." Drew said. May couldn't believe how simply he'd put it. His face was like stone as he stared at something she couldn't see. He seemed to do that a lot, she was starting to get used to it.

"Drew…you never commented about the locket." May said. There was a slight pause before he answered.

"There isn't much for me to say. I remember I knew her before. The only person that would be affected by this is Leah. Maybe it'll jog something."

"You're in the picture too, what if it jogs something for you?"

"It could. But I'm more concerned about the other picture."

"The one of the weird pokemon?"

"Yes."

"Why?" At this, Drew turned his gaze to her. She waited for him to answer and it wasn't until she was wondering if he'd ever answer that he did so.

"This wasn't just some little joy ride, May. Sophie didn't convince me to let you come on some vacation. I was on a mission, and you got dragged along." He waited to see if May would comment, but she stood listening. He sighed, realizing that he had no other choice but to continue.

"My mission was to find the three lake pokemon—Azelf, Mesprit, and Uxie. Noir wanted them for some machine that supposedly helped to create a better world for humans and pokemon. I'm guessing now that it does the opposite. I didn't look so hard for Azelf because we had two chances to find him—once on the way out and once on the way back. But when Rock started to suspect that I was separating myself from Roahn…Blade probably has all three of them by now."

"The pokemon in the photo…are the lake pokemon?" May asked.

"Yes, that's what I can only guess."

"Then why would Leah have a picture of them in her locket?"

"She and I seem to know a lot about them somehow…" Drew said. May remembered how he'd explained to her about the lights at Azelf's shrine—he couldn't explain how he knew any of it.

"Drew…what color is the light now?"

"Red."

"You think they have Azelf?" It took a while longer for Drew to answer.

"…No."

"Then where is he?"

"I don't…" May could tell by the look on his face what Drew was trying to do.

"Can you break through while you're dreaming?" she asked. Drew sighed.

"No." he said in a defeated tone "I can't…and I can't remember where he is."

"So…you knew at one time?"

"Yes! It's been killing me!" Drew cried "I know there's something! I know I should know…something! But I don't! And it's almost like it's right _there_!" Drew turned his gaze to May, her eyes had grown wide.

"What?"

"I _knew_ it!" she cried.

"Knew what?"

"I'm such an _idiot_!"

"Yes, we already know that." He was hoping for, at the very least, a frown. But it seemed that May was too excited to care about his insults.

"Drew! I know where Azelf is!"

"You…_do_?"

"Yes! And boy, will you slap yourself in the face when you hear—" May cut herself off. A look of horror spread across her face.

"What? Are you dreaming of the boogie man, now?"

"Drew…" she squeaked.

"Ok, ok. Where is he, I'll clobber him for you."

"Drew…you…"

"What? Now _I'm_ the boogie man? You're dreams are just plain twisted, M—"

"You're bleeding."

"Me? I think I'd know if I was—"

"Look down." Drew rolled his eyes, but obeyed. His eyes grew wide. May was right; he was bleeding—a lot. His shirt was soaked. When he looked up to May, she was fading.

"May?"

"Drew! You're fading!"

"You are too."

"Drew, don't leave!" May cried. She ran to him, and he felt her wrap her arms around him again. He wasn't sure what possessed him to do what he did next. But whatever the reason, a part of him was happy that the dream was ending after he did so. He kissed her on the top of her head, just before all went to darkness.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Drew jumped as he woke. His hand shot for the place in his chest that had been bleeding in the dream. He found nothing there. He sighed, relieved. Then he was frustrated that May hadn't gotten to tell him where Azelf was. And finally he was perplexed as to what had happened. He guessed that the shock of seeing him bleed so much had caused May to wake up…but what had caused him to bleed was what confused him. He hadn't even felt it, yet he saw it. His shirt had looked soaked, and yet it had felt dry to him. The only conclusion he could make was that whatever had caused the connection between the dreams had other psychic specialties. He shivered at the thought that his future held so much blood.

"Must have been bad, it's not that cold in here." Drew jumped at Leah's voice.

"Not bad…just…interesting."

"Some dreams are like that."

"Leah?"

"Hm?"

"Do you remember anything about…connected dreams?"

"No…" she answered, although he could tell by her tone that she too wasn't so sure.

"Well, get ready to. I think I just shared one with May."

"Aw, how adorable." Drew glared through his blush.

"I'm being serious!" he cried. Leah giggled.

"So am I!"

"Shut up."

"No thanks, I like talking. So tell me, how long have you liked her?"

"I do not like her!" Drew cried, his blush darkened as he remembered how the dream had ended.

"Sure you do."

"No, I don't!"

"You're face is still red, you know."

"Sure it is; I'm angry at you!"

"You never blush when you're angry. I've seen you angry."

"SHUT UP!"

"Thanks for the offer, but really no thank you." she said. Drew growled.

"Tell you what, Drew. You give me one good reason why you don't like her, and I'll shut up."

"She's clumsy."

"You find it cute."

"She has no brain!"

"Even though you know she's actually really smart."

"She's too innocent!"

"And you love that about her."

"She's too trusting."

"And you feel the need to protect her for it."

"I thought you said you'd shut up?"

"I said give me a good reason, not lie your ass off."

"I wasn't lying."

"Sure you were: those were all reasons you _like_ her. Not reasons you don't."

"I hate you."

"Why thank you, Drew! I know I'm right too!"

"I never said—"

"I'm sleepy, 'night Drew!" And before he could argue with her anymore, his friend had fallen asleep.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"DREW!" May shrieked. She heard Misty's groan from under her bunk.

"Go back to sleep, May. It was only a dream…"

"No! It wasn't just a dream!" she cried as she clambered down to the floor and flipped on the bedside light. As she slept, Sophie rolled away from the light. Dawn seemed too deep in sleep to care.

"May…its reasonable your worries would creep up on you in your sleep, but honestly—"

"No, Misty! You don't understand! He was dreaming too!"

"May…"

"I'm serious! I know I sound crazy, but I think he's in trouble!"

"You thought that before you went to sleep. What makes this dream so special?"

"Because, he was really there!"

"Go back to bed, May…"

"But, Misty!" her friend didn't answer, she was already asleep again. May growled in frustration. It was then that she remembered her discovery. She whipped around to find that Riolu wasn't where she had left him. She ran out the door and down the hall. As she entered the lobby, Nurse Joy looked up at her.

"Can't sleep, May?"

"Nurse Joy, did you see a Riolu walk through here?"

"No, May. I'm terribly sorry. I wasn't in the lobby a while ago; I had to tend to one of the pokemon. Did you need help searching?"

"No thanks, I think I know where he went." And before Nurse Joy could answer, May was out the front door. She ran through the city, she felt a sense of déjà vu as she followed the path to the fountains in the dark night. As she neared them, she looked for Drew's pokemon. She found him, and she wasn't surprised. He was sitting on the edge of the fountain Drew had been staring at. He too gazed into the crystal waters now.

"You've been dropping hints all along, and I never seemed to figure it out." He turned to look at her. His blue eyes sparkled with starlight.

"First at Lake Valor, then in the marshes and the latest one was earlier today. You wanted me to know. Why wouldn't you tell him?" He blinked, and she wasn't surprised to see his golden eyes stare back at her.

"So, was the dream your doing too?" A smile spread across Riolu's face, and then rainbow light consumed him as Azelf took his place.

"Ok that's two answers now that you owe me, and I think I deserve several others."

"_You are a brilliant girl, you know that?"_

"No. You're just sloppy at undercover work."

"_I doubt that. I've kept hidden from even Drew for years."_

"Which brings me to one of my questions: why keep it from him?"

"_The wall is a powerful thing. But all things in this world must end. I knew that Drew would break it one day, and Leah too. Until then, however, the two of them would surely never believe me."_

"Then why stay? Why watch and do nothing?"

"_You misunderstand. I am to protect them as they are to protect me. To leave them in Roahn with nobody watching…my presence was the only thing that kept them in tact. Drew is no killer, but if I were not at his side Rat would have been merciless."_

"What do you have to do with them?"

"_I believe Dawn would understand, she is native to Sinnoh legends. You must not speak of me, May. Roahn has taken Uxie and Mesprit—I can't allow them to get a hold of me as well, for your own good as well as mine."_

"So then how exactly do I—"

"May! There you are!" May whipped around to find Misty and a very sleepy Dawn. She turned her gaze to Azelf, but she saw only Riolu.

'_Boy he's quick…'_ she thought.

"What are you doing out here?" Dawn asked as she yawned. May wanted so badly to ask Dawn about the lake pokemon, but she knew that her friend might think she was dream crazy as Misty had. She had to wait till morning.

"Just…couldn't sleep…"

"Well come back inside, it looks about to rain." Misty said, irritated.

"Yeah…ok. Come on…Riolu." May said. She could have sworn she saw an amused look cross the pokemon's face as he jumped down from the fountain and followed her back down the path to the pokemon center.


	21. Oh the Possibilities

_**Chapter Twenty-One: Oh the Possibilities  
**_

"May! Slow down!"

"Maybe you guys should keep up! Ever think of that, Ash?!"

"Seriously, May! Wait up!"

"No can do, Max! We've got to hurry!"

"Ever since she had that dream, she's been intent of getting back to Lake Valor. Let's face it, the only chance we have of slowing down is if another flood hits the marshes." Misty cried. However, the weather was rather dry in the marshlands, making it a much faster trip back to Pastoria than it had been away from it. As the city's entrance came in view, the group began to slow.

"May, come back! It's nearly sunset!" Brock cried. May came to a stop and started to walk back to her friends.

"Why is it so urgent that we get to the lake?" Dawn asked.

"I already told you, Dawn. Because—"

"She thinks Drew's there." Max finished.

"May, look. I know you're worried, but don't you think he would be more likely to be back in Sunyshore?" Misty asked.

"NO!" May cried.

"What May means to say…" Sophie cut in before Misty could argue "is that it would be safer to check the lake first. We don't want to get caught ourselves and have Drew at the lake like she says."

"Uh…yes! That's exactly what I meant!" May said, grateful for Sophie's help.

"True, very true. I agree." Brock said. Ash and Misty gaped at him.

"You _do_?" Ash asked.

"Yes. May wouldn't lead us to the lake without good reason, and it's definitely a safer place to look than Sunyshore."

"That's true." May was glad to hear Dawn speaking up. If Dawn was on her side, maybe she wouldn't find her so crazy when she asked about the legends.

"Well…ok. But, May, you're still crazy." Ash said. Misty laughed.

"Yes, but that's what we love about you!" May rolled her eyes; at least she didn't have to mess with their cries of resentment anymore.

"Now will you follow me?"

"Even at this rate, I don't think we could make it to the resort by nightfall, May. We better stop for the night here in Pastoria." Brock said. May sighed, but she knew Brock was right—he always was.

"Ok…" she said glumly.

"Hey! Now I can show Misty the Sinnoh Safari Zone!" Ash cried as he dragged Misty toward the north end of the town. Sophie giggled.

"Those two are silly!" she cried. Max nodded.

"Yes they are!"

"We should check in to the pokemon center…" Dawn said.

"Yeah, and maybe the lovely Nurse Joy will be there!" Brock said excitedly. May and Dawn rolled their eyes.

"Brock, it's the _pokemon_ _center._ Nurse Joy's _always_ there." May said.

"Oh…right…I knew that."

* * *

"Do you think we should leave?" Leah asked.

"No. I told May we were here, if we leave and they come looking for us…"

"Got it, bad idea."

"What do you think caused it, Leah?"

"One of the lake pokemon?"

"The dream I can see…but the blood?" Drew had told Leah all about the dream—after she'd stopped teasing him about his supposed feelings for May.

"Uxie can get visions, right?"

"I think so. Do you think Uxie connected the dreams?"

"Maybe, but he was on the other side of Sinnoh."

"Unless he's in Sunyshore…"

"Even so, how would the dream have kept going after his vision interrupted it?"

"How am I supposed to know? How did he have a vision of me bleeding to death?"

"You aren't helping."

"I'm sorry, it isn't exactly my fault I miraculously know how I'm gonna die!"

"You aren't going to die, for Arceus' sake."

"I think Uxie has other thoughts about that."

"Can we please get back to my original question?"

"What question?"

"Uxie couldn't have been doing it on his own. The dream was still going; otherwise the connection would have ended during his vision."

"So all three of them were in on it." Drew said.

"You say that like a joke, but what if it's true."

"Then I'm a genius and you must admit that you're not as smart as I am."

"Ok, Mr. Genius: what are we going to eat?" Drew seemed to think about this for a while, and then he gave her a look of embarrassment.

"What?"

"I hadn't thought of that, but now that you mention it…I'm starving!" he cried. Leah rolled her eyes.

"So much for Mr. Genius."

* * *

They were asleep, she was sure of it. Dawn hadn't budged since she'd hit the pillow. Sophie and Misty were both breathing too steadily to be awake. May quietly climbed down the ladder that led to the top bunk and tip toed over to where Riolu sat.

"You awake?"

"_Of course."_

"The dream last night…that was your doing, right?" the pokemon smiled at her.

"_A part of it was, yes."_

"Can you do it again?" she asked. The pokemon laughed quietly.

"_I was already planning on it. Go to sleep, May."_

"Ok…and…Azelf?"

"_Yes, May?"  
_

"Last night…Drew isn't actually…"

"_No. He's fine. Now go back to bed."_

"Ok, thank you."

"_You're quite welcome."_

_

* * *

  
_

It was the light that woke her, its warmth and brightness. As she sat up, May realized that she was in a forest. One she could not recognize. She stood up and started to walk around. She was just beginning to feel lost when someone grabbed her arm. Before she could scream, a hand covered her mouth.

"Don't make a sound." He hissed.

"Drew?" May asked, her voice was muffled by her hand.

"Whispering works too if you have the need to talk…" he sighed as he let go of her mouth.

"Why do we have to be so quiet?" May whispered.

"Look." May obeyed. She was shocked to see that they were not alone. A little girl giggled as she ran through the trees. May took a closer look at the girl to see that a little golden heart dangled from her neck. She immediately recognized her.

"Leah." She whispered.

"Keep watching." Drew whispered back. As she watched, she saw a boy chasing after the girl; he called her name in a voice that May could just barely recognize.

"That's you." She whispered. Drew nodded.

"You're remembering something in your dreams?"

"I've always suspected that I do so. But only you will remember it, May." He said. May looked up at him. His eyes were sad as he watched his younger self chase after his younger friend.

"Tag! You're it now, Leah! And no asking Mesprit for help!" the younger Drew cried as he ran away from Leah.

"Aw…but that's the only way I _ever_ catch you!" she cried as she ran after him. Drew started to follow her. May, not wanting to get lost again, ran after him.

"Wait!" she hissed. Drew slowed his pace to let her catch up. As soon as she was next to him, his pace quickened. She quickened hers as well.

"So, you won't remember that I saw you?" May asked. Drew sighed.

"I have no idea, but probably not."

"But the wall can't block me…can it?"

"You are the lake pokemon's doing. Therefore it might be able to."

"But you're overcoming it as we speak. What if it doesn't block any of this?"

"May…" Drew said, he stopped walking and May did the same. She could see that he'd cut himself off at the sight of the two children. It looked as if Leah had indeed asked for Mesprit's help. The pink lake pokemon was holding Drew in the air with a psychic attack.

"Put me down!" Drew giggled.

"TAG!" Leah cried as she slapped his foot.

"No _fair_!" Drew laughed.

"Yes fair!" Leah cried. It was then that May realized that the three seemed to be fading. As they disappeared, the scenery changed and May found that she and Drew were in a different forest—one she heavily recognized.

"Valor Lake Front." Drew whispered.

"Where were we before?"

"Verity Lake Front." Drew answered "My memory is over. Which of us came up with this dream is beyond me however."

"I wish I actually were here…But I'm only in Pastoria…"

"You're in Pastoria?"

"Yes, I convinced the others to follow me to come get you."

"Hm, good thing Leah and I didn't leave then."

"Yes, good thing."

"Here's a question: how _did_ you get them to follow you?" he asked. May sighed.

"Quite frankly, I don't think any of them really believe me. But Sophie is too hopeful to not be on my side. She came up with a great argument that basically convinced Brock."

"Did she?"

"Yeah. It's safer to check the lake than it is to check Sunyshore."

"Huh, I always knew she was smart."

"Yeah, I felt like kissing her." May said. She could have sworn she saw a small smile on Drew's face. But it was gone as soon as it had appeared.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Drew sighed.

"How do you know if there's anything wrong?"

"If there wasn't, you would have broadened that smile."

"Ah. You caught that did you?"

"Yes."

"Huh, maybe you're almost as smart as Sophie after all." Drew smirked. May punched him and he winced.

"Hey! Bruises do not go away over night!" Drew cried.

"Then don't call me stupid."

"I didn't say stupid—you came up with that on your own."

"Oh, what_ever_! Just tell me what's wrong." May said. Drew seemed a bit disappointed at this. May raised her eyebrows.

"Were you…avoiding the question?"

"I was doing a good job of it too." Drew said. May sighed. The two were silent, May waited patently, knowing that Drew would get uncomfortable eventually. She was right.

"Tell me what you think is wrong." He mumbled.

"That doesn't help me at all!" May cried, getting frustrated.

"Sure it does."

"No, it doesn't! For all I know, you could just be frustrated because you think you won't remember your dream!" It wasn't until May stopped fuming that she say the blank look Drew was giving her.

"What?"

"Bingo. Sorry, I don't have a prize for you." Drew said. May stared at him.

"Did I just…guess right?"

"That's two prizes I owe you now. Can you settle with a gold star?"

"But…I wasn't even trying!"

"Well then, you know me better than you know yourself. Congrats." Drew said. It was then that the forest began to fade. Drew sighed.

"One of us is waking up." He said as he started to fade as well.

"That's not fair!" May cried as she wrapped her arms around him.

"May?"

"Yeah?"

"If I don't remember…remind me, ok?"

"The memory or the dream?" May asked.

"…both." His answer echoed through the darkness that engulfed her.


	22. The Legend

_**Chapter Twenty-Two: The Legend**_

As the bleak wall of the pokemon center came into view, May sighed. She turned her gaze to the clock by her bed.

6:04 AM

It was then May realized that, for once, she had woken before her friends. She could see Misty and Sophie across the room and hear Dawn's steady breathing from the bunk above her. Quietly, she replaced her pajamas with her usual red attire and left the room. As she silently closed the door behind her, she looked down the hall and into the lobby. From where she was, she could see that Nurse Joy was already typing away at her desk. The rest of the lobby seemed deserted. She smiled at Nurse Joy as she walked through the lobby and out the door. She walked past the pokemon gym, remembering how eager Ash had been to see Crasher Wake, the gym's leader. As she recalled how the little reunion had turned into a rematch, she laughed to herself.

"_Yes, to Ash a reunion always seems to be better defined as a rematch."_ May jumped, not expecting Azelf's voice.

"You scared me!" she rasped as the apparent Riolu smiled devilishly at her.

"_It was too tempting."_

"Yeah, well next time don't be tempted." May said.

"_Where are you sneaking off to?"_ the pokemon asked, ignoring her last comment.

"I wasn't sneaking." May said defensively "I was just going for a walk."

"_Ah, yes, an effective cure for one who's stressed."_

"Stressed? I never said I was stressed."

"_I never said that you had."_ At this comment, May sighed.

"How obvious is it?" she asked. His eyes gleamed gold for a moment.

"_Obvious enough, for one who has seen as many generations as I."_

"Do you think the others have noticed?"

"_You were trying to hide it? My dearest May, at this point the facts have no choice but to reveal themselves. However, I can tell you this: the one who is most certain of it I have known since her birth."_

"Sophie…how long?"

"_Has she known? Since your first 'adventure' in Sunyshore."_ He answered. May stood, silent. As the conversation progressed, the two had walked to the ocean's shore that lay on the opposite end of the city from the pokemon center. May gazed at the waves that glittered with the sun's rays. Finally she asked:

"We aren't talking about stress anymore…are we?"

Azelf simply smiled.

* * *

Drew woke to find that he was alone. There was a note next to him in Leah's handwriting.

_Drew,_

_Gone to surface—love this place, love the fresh air more._

_Come on up if you feel like it._

_Leah_

Well, he felt like it. Drew got up and walked over to the pool of water that covered the entrance to the shrine. Just as he sat down to lower himself in, Leah's head burst through the surface. Immediately, she scrambled out of the water. Still drenched, she started dragging him away from the pool.

"What? What is it?" Drew asked. She let go of him and started running behind the Azelf statue.

"Leah, for the love of Arceus. What's going on??" She froze. The only sound in the cave was the water dripping from her clothes. In the near silence, her voice echoed around the cave.

"They didn't see me. But it doesn't matter, they're coming anyway." And as if to emphasize her words he heard the still waters above crashing as if several people had plunged into Lake Valor.

Roahn.

"No…how?!" he cried.

"It doesn't matter, they just are. Listen, there's an opening in the wall behind the statue, something tells me it's a labyrinth." At her words, Drew knew exactly what she was talking about. In fact, where before there had been no knowledge of the network of tunnels, there was now an entire map working its way back into Drew's memory.

"You remember too. Come on, we've got to hide." And without waiting for his reply she disappeared behind the statue. Drew immediately followed her, just remembering to pick up the note she'd left as evidence that anyone had ever been there.

* * *

"Bye, Nurse Joy! My love! My sweet!" Brock called behind them as Max and Sophie dragged him along. The group was leaving Pastoria. At a fast pace they could make it to the resort by noon. It was there, May had decided, that she would ask Dawn about the legends. She felt a tremor of shock as her foot sunk into the ground with her next step. She hadn't realized that they'd made it to the shore that connected Pastoria to the resort. Had she really been thinking that deeply? She sighed, realizing that there was no Drew bugging her to keep her alert. She missed him…

"Burrrr! I hate it when the ocean's cold. Then, the winds are cold too!" Sophie exclaimed. Max wrapped his arms around her.

"Better?" he asked. She laughed.

"A little."

"Just a little farther and we'll be at the resort!" Dawn cried.

"Yeah, and there we can eat!" Ash exclaimed. "You hungry May?" he added. It was then that she realized exactly how hungry she really was.

"Yeah…yeah, I am." She said.

"But don't go into the kitchen, ok?" Sophie teased.

"Heh…yeah. You got it." May said, only half joking. The group made it to the resort by noon, just in time for—to Ash and May's pleasure—lunch. It seemed that, as soon as the group took their seats, the two friends had dived into their meals.

"Slow down, guys. It's not a race!" Misty exclaimed, immediately regretting it. Ash and May exchanged glances.

"Three…two…ONE!" May cried and the two dove into their meals again—indeed, this had become a race. Misty gave an annoyed sigh. Max laughed.

"That was a stupid mistake!" he cried.

"I know…I know…" Misty grumbled. Before Sophie could comment, Ash and May sat up.

"DONE!" they cried at the same time.

"Well what do you know…a tie." Sophie said.

"Desert?" May asked.

"You stole the words from my mouth!" Ash cried and the two raced to the buffet for their deserts, nearly knocking Brock over who was returning with his first plate of food.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

After lunch the group had decided to stay at the resort and wash up a bit. May sat, already showered, waiting for Dawn to come out. The legend question was killing May, she _had_ to know what Azelf was talking about. She sighed, wondering if all showers took this long. It was then that Dawn came out in her robe, brushing her hair as she hummed. She stood in front of the mirror now. May walked up to her casually, thinking of how she would bring this up.

"Hey, Dawn?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"You live in Twinleaf Town, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Near Lake Verity?" as she asked this, Dawn's brushing slowed.

"Yes."

"So…is it really a legend that there are three lake pokemon?" May asked. Dawn seemed shocked.

"Of course! Mesprit at Lake Verity, Uxie at Lake Acuity, and Azelf at Lake Valor." She said.

"Well…what about them?"

"What do you mean 'what about them'?"

"Well…what's the legend?" May asked, trying not to act too curious. Dawn pondered for a bit until, finally, she spoke.

"Well, apparently, a long time ago the people of Sinnoh were one tribe. They lived on what is now Amity Square. They made a pact with the three pokemon—Mesprit, the being of emotion, Azelf, the being of willpower, and Uxie, the being of knowledge. As long as the three pokemon, who gave these traits to the people of Sinnoh, protected them, they would protect the pokemon. It was during a great storm that the pokemon truly held up their end of the bargain. Realizing that it was coming before any human could, each took a third of the tribe. Mesprit took her third to Lake Verity. Uxie took his to Lake Acuity. Azelf to his to Lake Valor. The three made underwater caverns so that the humans could hide. As the storm passed, the people of the tribe were eternally grateful. Each third settled in the towns now known as Twinleaf, Sunyshore, and Snowpoint."

"That's pretty cool." May said. The pact made since to her…but what did that have to do with Drew? As if she had read her mind, Dawn continued.

"It's said that the pact runs in the blood of the remaining descendants of the tribe. And that they still live, to this day, to protect the lake pokemon." Dawn said. Now _that_ was something May could go on.

"So…let's say that a descendant neglected their duties to the pokemon…or maybe even forgot they existed?" May hoped to Arceus that Dawn wouldn't make the connection to Drew. To her luck, she didn't.

"I'm not sure…The lake pokemon gave them emotion, willpower, and knowledge…so maybe they would be stripped of those." At Dawn's words, May felt the realization hit her. Horror gripped her as she thought of what would happen to Drew. It was willpower that got him to fight the wall…and emotion that kept his intentions good…knowledge would let him think for himself. If Azelf had not stayed with Drew and Leah so they could take care of him in another form, they would have been Roahn's killing machines. They would be…they would be…inhuman.

"Kinda creepy, thinking about that." Dawn mused, continuing to fix her hair. May walked out of the room, attempting to keep her horrific discovery to herself.


	23. The Solution

**A/N:** Hello peoples! Yes, it is true...I AM ALIVE!!!! And thank goodness for that! (lol) So, I've been very bad about updating WITW, but don't think I've pushed it out of my thoughts. Sorry, this chapter is a bit of a filler...but it's needed for excitement, action, and...well for the story to go on....

So on with it! Happy Reading!

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty Three: The Solution  
**_

Irritation boiled inside of May. How could they be so stupid? How could they not understand? She was sitting on the stone steps leading up to the resort. The sun was beginning to set. Her gaze was fixed on the forest of the Valor Lakefront. Drew and Leah were over there, she was so close...and yet...

"Can't they see we can't wait another night?!" May growled to nobody in particular. The day's events played out in her mind:

**--(Flashback)--**

_"Ok, thank you Officer Jenny." Ash said._

_"Good bye my love! I'll miss you!" Brock cried as Ash hung up the phone. The younger boy rolled his eyes._

_"How long have you been chasing Jennys now Brock?" he asked._

_"About as long as I've been chasing Joys!" Brock answered. "Oh! Hello, my sweet!" he added as a girl walked by, she scowled and kept walking._

_"Never mind that! What did she say?" Misty asked. Ash gave her a puzzled look and Misty rolled her eyes._

_"Jenny. Remember, you called her for a reason..?" Max and Sophie snickered. May sat next to Dawn, trying to hide her impatience._

_"OH! She said she can get someone there tomorrow morning." Ash said. May gawked._

_"Tomorrow..._morning_?!" she asked "We can't wait a whole night! What if they get killed?" _

_"We can only do so much May..." Dawn whispered. May glared down at her shoes._

_"That's not fair!" Sophie cried "We need to get to them now!"_

_"It's ok, Sophie...Officer Jenny knows what she's doing..." Max said, trying to comfort her.  
_

_"We should go ahead then, she didn't say anything about us not going!" Sophie cried. May was really starting to like this girl, she could at least see why Drew did._

_"No, it's too dangerous." Brock said. Of course Brock, the protective one, would say that. May felt as if she could scream with frustration. Instead, knowing that her attempts were futile, she got up and left the room. She walked out the front door and started to wander around the resort. She let her feet take her wherever they wanted to. Eventually, she ended up by the steps. Her eyes found the lakefront and she sighed. The sun was just beginning to set: she could just make out the shimmering lake beyond the thousands of trees. _

_If only..._

_

* * *

_

"Leah?" Drew whispered to the dark. His eyes were just beginning to adjust, it was only when they were finished adjusting that he realized he had lost her. Leah always assumed it was best to split up. Most times she was right, but Drew didn't like the idea at all now. He sighed and continued into the darkness. He came across forks in the paths that were familiar before they had time to seem alien. He had an idea that he was going to a safer spot, but what the spot was he couldn't remember. He figured he'd know it when he found it. As he continued on, he listened for voices, footsteps, and even the smallest scuffling. Once he heard something, but it turned out to be a Zubat. As he walked his mind drifted to May...she and the others were on their way...they must be close by now... Part of Drew wanted them to come, the other part wanted them to stay as far away as possible for their own safety, and yet another part of him was just too frustrated, that May knew where Azelf was but couldn't tell him, to care what the others did.

_"Where could he _possibly_ be?!"_ he thought angrily. He had a sickening feeling that Roahn had captured Mesprit, that would explain why she was trying to get a hold of him earlier. Uxie he wasn't sure of, and now May knew where Azelf was? He might as well just fear for them all! And then, another thought.

_"Why do I care?"_

That had been the question of the day. Why DID he care? Could it be linked to his involuntary reference to Mesprit as a friend? And he had definitely recognized her voice as well. But why? It was then that he remembered the dream he'd had the other night. The one that had a memory of him and Leah playing in the forest with Mesprit. It seemed that the wall hadn't blocked the dream. Was that May's doing? Or was it something else? Either way, he was grateful, and still had no idea why he cared or knew the lake pokemon. He felt as if there was something missing...something important. But what?

He was pondering this question as he reached a small cavern. There were three paths he could follow, but he had the strangest feeling that there was a forth way. he looked around the cavern, but all he saw were the stone walls, a few boulders, and some stalagmites. Wait...stalagmites? In one of the corners there was a stalagmite that was connected to a stalactite. He walked over to the group and discovered a hidden passage. It was just like the one behind the Azelf statue!

"You check down there! I've got this one!"

Drew froze. The voice was coming from one of the other three passages. As Drew dashed through the hidden passage he could hear Blade and Rock's voices echoing around him.

"Feisty one, isn't she?"

"She always has been, but I kinda liked her better when it wasn't me she was biting!"

Drew's heart sank, it seemed that Leah had definitely been wrong.

* * *

Night had fallen. And everyone had started going to bed. Dawn was already snoring and Misty was reading a magazine on water pokemon. Sophie was sitting up and petting her Eevee. May stared at the wall, pretending she'd already gone to sleep. She listened as Misty set her magazine down and leaned over the top bunk.

"May?"

She didn't respond. She didn't want to talk to Misty right now. She heard her friend sigh.

"Sophie, could you turn off the light?" May heard no reply, but the instant change of light told her that Sophie had done as asked.

"Thanks." Misty said. May heard her adjust herself and soon her deep breathing told her that she was asleep. May closed her eyes and let sleep consume her as well.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"And the winner is...MAY OF PETALBURG!" the MC cried. The crowd cheered and confetti was falling all around her, showering the stage with all the colors of the rainbow.

"I'm honored to give you this, the Ribbon Cup!" the MC shouted. The crowd roared as May took the cup in her hands. It glinted the brightest of golds as she held it. She looked up at the crowd and found Max. He was jumping up and down with Pikachu. Ash and Brock were cheering her name and Misty and Dawn were hugging each other. She'd done it, she'd finally become top coordinator! She searched the seat next to Dawn for Drew, but couldn't find him. The crowd's roar and the MC's booming voice started to echo around her as she searched for him. All turned to darkness, not even an echo was left.

"Drew?" she called "DREW!"

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

May woke with a start, she sat up so fast that she almost ran into "Riolu". His eyes were filled with terror.

"What happened?" May asked.

_"He's awake."_

"Is that a bad thing?"

_"We could still make the connection to his mind, and it's filled with fear."_

"Fear? For himself?"

_"No, he never fears for himself. It's Leah: Rock has her."_

"So what do we do?"

_"Find him before he gets himself killed." _At this, May jumped out of her bed. She grabbed her bag and jammed on her shoes. She had slept in her clothes that night, being too angry with the others to care about comfort. At that moment, a thought crossed her mind.

"How are we getting there?" she asked. They needed to be there now. Running wasn't going to cut it.

_"Hm...good point. I may have a solution..."_ at that, he leaped silently to the floor and tiptoed over to Sophie's backpack. He carefully unzipped one of the pouches and rummaged through it. After a short while, he came up with a pokeball. Before May could ask, he zipped the bag back up and silently ran to the door.

_"Quickly, quietly, we must get as far away as possible before I can explain."_ he said. Quietly, May tiptoed over to the door and out into the night air. She shut the door behind her and with a soft "click" she was running toward the stone steps. Azelf was fast on her tail, pokeball in hand. As soon as she reached the steps, she came to a halt. Azelf stopped next to her.

"Why did you steal that?" May asked. Without a word, Azelf released the pokemon in the ball. To May's astonishment, she came face to face with a very puzzled Charizard. It looked at Azelf questioningly and then to May with the same look.

_"Drew and Leah are in trouble. Take us to Lake Valor."_ was all Azelf said before May was whisked away, clinging onto Charizard for dear life.


	24. If I Lost You

_**Chapter Twenty Four: If I Lost You  
**_

May peered around the oak tree she was hiding behind. They were sitting there. Laughing. Enjoying themselves around the campfire they'd made. She sighed and gazed up at the sky. Nothing. Not a single star in sight. It seemed as if not even the stars could bear to watch the Roahn guards laugh the night away. May scowled as one of them laughed harder.

_"Yes. Probably drinking the night away as well."_ Azelf's voice made her jump.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" she asked. He smiled.

_"Now, May, what kind of psychic pokemon would I be if I couldn't read minds as well as speak to them?"_ he asked.

"I see your point." May whispered. She turned her gaze to the shimmering water of Lake Valor.

"How are we ever going to get past them?" she asked.

_"Not to worry. I have a plan."_ he answered. May recalled that the last time he'd said that, he hadn't told her what the plan was until she was being whisked away by a stolen Charizard. She sighed.

_"Would you like me to explain this one?"_ he asked.

"Will you stop DOING that?" May rasped. He snickered.

_"No. Now, pay attention. There is a secret entrance that can only be found by those who know of its existence. Follow me, but you might want to hold your breath." _And with that, he silently dipped himself into the lake's surface. May sighed, took a deep breath, and followed suit. Night had changed the lake floor. Most pokemon were no longer out and about. Only a few swam from coral patch to coral patch. Moonlight had turned everything to silver. May tried not to become awestruck again and lose Azelf. She quickly swam behind him. they swam past the entrance Drew had lead her to the last time she'd been at the lake. Azelf then dove down and around, May closely behind. She saw him disappear behind a large boulder. Realizing she would soon need to breath, she darted behind him. She swam through a hole that she hadn't noticed until she was already through it. Realizing that she was swimming upwards, she swam faster. Just as she was about to run out of breath, her head broke the surface. She began gulping down air as she reached for land. Azelf had already gotten out was promptly sniffing the air. As May crawled out of the small pool she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. Azelf must have seen it to because he began to growl. What truly confused her was when he abruptly grew silent and began to wag his tale.

"Rio!" he cried as he leaped into the shadows. May looked up as a figure appeared, holding Azelf in his arms. Relief crashed over May as Azelf began to lick his face.

"Drew!" May cried. She ran to him and was in his arms. She felt as if she could stay there forever. He held her close, as if she would disappear as soon as he let go. For a moment it seemed as if all was right with the world.

But all was not right.

"What are you doing here, May?" Drew asked, quickly pulling away. May couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

"We came to save you...you and Leah." she answered. Drew froze.

"They took her." he said. May sighed, she so badly wanted to tell him that she already knew. But she refrained.

"We have to help her!" she cried, trying her best to sound surprised.

"_We_?"

"Yes _we_. You don't think I came all this way just to watch you get yourself killed, do you? I came to help you–both of you."

"I don't need you're help, May. You should have stayed where you were." Drew growled.

"You can use all the help you can get, the way I see it," May shot back, "There are more of them than there are of you."

"Three of them: three idiots. I can take care of three idiots." Drew said.

"Idiots with the means to kill you?" May asked. "And did I mention there were three of them?"

"Go back, May." Drew growled.

"And what if I don't want to?" Drew said nothing. "What if I want to be here?"

"What if I don't want you here?" he asked.

"I wouldn't care."

"I DON'T WANT YOU HERE!" he shouted.

"I DON'T GIVE A CRAP!" May cried. Drew clenched his fists, his face was blank but his eyes seemed to be searching. May waited. Finally he let out a sigh.

"Go back, May." he said "i don't need your help. I don't want you here. I want you...anywhere...but here." May felt the urge to begin yelling again, but she avoided it.

"Drew, I'm not going—"

"I can't lose you, May! If I lost you...I..." Drew looked away. They stood there, in silence for a while. The gentle ripple of the water entrance echoed around them.

"Drew..." May finally said "you aren't going to lose me." She walked toward him and touched his arm. He looked at her, his eyes filled with pain. She so badly wanted to make it go away, so badly wanted to make him feel better. But, as fate would have it, before she could say anything, a low growl echoed around them. Drew froze under her touch. Azelf crouched, ready to spring. From behind Drew came the Mightyena: two of them. One sniffed the ground. The other had its eyes locked on Drew, as it snarled the first lifted its head and sprung. May felt herself being shoved into the wall. Pain exploded through her shoulder, where she'd landed. She heard a loud yelp and opened her eyes to see that Azelf had bitten down on the Mightyena that had attacked. The other remained standing, eyes still on Drew. Drew, himself, was standing where May had been not long before.

_"Yes, run now. And don't come back!"_ May focused her attention back to Azelf and the other Mightyena. It was then that she realized that Azelf had won and the Mightyena was slinking away with its tail between its legs. The one remaining crouched, Azelf whirled and raced to stand between the two. He growled menacingly. May looked at Drew who met her gaze. He blinked and returned it to the pokemon. A smug grin crawled onto Mightyena's face. It then let out a roar that rang through May's eardrums.

_"Coward!"_ May heard Azelf cry. Her eyes widened as the red pokeball beam engulfed him. Fear grabbed May. Mightyena stood up, walked behind Drew, and nudged him. May looked at him desperately—trying to find any way he intended to get out of this. But instead, he showed every sign of going. His gaze was fixed on the floor as he walked away from her.

"Drew..." May called. He paused, then Mightyena shoved him forward. As it did so, May noticed Drew drop siomething into the shadows. As he hurned the corner, his gaze met hers. He blinked and was gone. Mightyena took one last look at her, and disappeared as well. May waited until she could no longer hear their footsteps. It was then that she noticed she'd been crying. She wasn't sure when it had started, but she tried to wipe it away as she stumbled over to the item Drew had left. She felt a bit relieved to find Azelf's pokeball. She then released him. He looked up at her and she looked at him determinedly.

"I warned him: I don't care." she said "Azelf, we're going to save them. There's nothing you can do to stop me." She expected him to get angry. But instead, he smiled.


	25. The Master Plan

**A/N: **Sorry this took so long guys, I was coming down with a serious case of writer's block. But it's all good now, and only a couple chapters left! Yay! This story took forEVER! But hopefully...it was worth it? Anyways, it may not have helped that my mind is also occupied with the sequel to REE (don't worry it _is_ coming) as well as another possible oneshot (i think some fluff might be a nice break from all this serious stuff...don't you?)

But, I'll stop rambling now.

Happy Reading!

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty Five: The Master Plan**_

"Well, well, well, look what the Mightyena dragged in!" Blade sneered. Drew restrained himself from punching him. He may have had doubts before, but one thing he never doubted was his hatred towards the man in front of him.

"Well? What do you think, Drewsy? Isn't it beautiful?" Blade motioned towards a corner of the cavern. There, a huge machine stood, electricity pulsed through two large tubes on either side of it and sparked inside a huge orb on the top of it. But the details really didn't matter to Drew, what mattered were the three other orbs that made up most of it. The three of them formed a triangle, one remained empty. The others, however…

Drew's eyes widened as they met Mesprit's. Uxie seemed to be attempting to break free.

"Let them go." He growled. Blade laughed, oh how he always hated that laugh.

"You're such a funny little boy! I have always loved the way you so dimwittedly go about your life. Surely you know that simply ordering it will never make it so? At least, in your case." Blade sneered, "Perhaps I should use Lee-Lee to show you how it works."

"Blade, you know what Noir said." Rock called. Drew jumped, he hadn't noticed the other admin, nor had he noticed Leah who was chained to the wall. Rage boiled within him when he saw that they'd knocked her out.

"_**You really think Rock would let anything happen to her? You know of his soft spot for her."**_ Drew jumped. At first, he thought he'd been thinking to himself…then he recognized the voice.

"_**Don't say a word, I don't want them knowing what I'm up to." **_Uxie said,_**"Mesprit and I are trying to think of a way out of this, and we can't have them knowing that we can still communicate."**_

_*Yes. Communication is key in situations such as this.* _Drew recognized Mesprit's voice immediately. He recalled the last time he'd heard from her…he'd been in the marshes with May. Blade's voice cut through his thoughts.

"Oh, Rock, you're so boring! Would you like me to tell you what it does anyway Drew?" he asked, but before Drew could answer, he grabbed his arm. "Hm, I've got a better idea!"

_*Drew, you have to get away!* _At the tone of Mesprit's voice, a sense of alarm took over him. He jerked his arm away from Blade and struck out at his jaw. Blade, caught off guard, growled and slammed his fist into Drew's side. As he collapsed, the world turned black…

* * *

_*Drew, you have to get away!*_

Azelf stopped. May, realizing her companion had frozen, also halted.

"What's wrong?"

"_We must hurry."_ He answered and rushed forward. Puzzled, May followed.

"Azelf, what's going on?"

"_I don't know, May. Otherwise I would have told you."_

"But you must know something, or else you wouldn't be more worried than before." She said. Azelf was silent for a moment; the only sound was the echoing of their footsteps. May was about to break the silence when Azelf spoke instead.

"_Something…is wrong. I just…don't know what."_

_

* * *

_

"You're so predictable, you know that?" Drew blinked, his vision clearing. How long had he been out? It couldn't have been too long.

"You almost ruined my fun, you know that?" Blade spat. It was then that Drew realized the cold metal around his wrists. Great, they'd chained him to the wall: Typical.

"Are you even _listening_ to me, Drew?"

"Why would anyone listen to you, Blade? It's not like anyone cares what you think." Drew mumbled. Blade grabbed the collar of his shirt and slammed him into the wall. Drew suppressed a whimper.

"You're either very bold or very stupid, boy." Blade hissed. Drew smirked.

"Neither, you just aren't much of a threat." Pain exploded in his cheek as Blade smacked him.

"Been wanting to do that for a while?" Drew asked angrily.

"You know me too well." Blade seethed.

"Why don't you explain what that thing does? You're so proud of it; I know you're dying to explain it to me." At this, Blade sneered.

"Gladly."

* * *

"_May, stop."_

They had reached another cavern. Although the entrance was a little ways off, May could hear voices echoing around her. Voices she recognized.

"Azelf, that's—"

"_Yes, I know. Blade seems to be showing off his newest toy."_

"Toy?" Azelf shivered.

"_That's how he likes to refer to weapons. He has to be the sickest man I've ever met in all my life—and my life has been a very long one." _Azelf paused, his gaze distant. He then shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.

"_We should listen."_ As May began to listen she realized that she could understand the words that were spoken—even if they echoed around her.

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"Noir did his research, you know. He spent years on it: all about the lake pokemon. They're fascinating pokemon, most legends have all kinds of information about them…but these little ones don't seem to have much of a record. But they're so important to us, and Noir just _had_ to find information on them. He was about to move on, when he came across the most unusual bit of research. Would you like to know the subject?"

"Sure, if you can get on with you're little presentation. I just want to know what the stupid thing does." Drew said.

"Come on now, Drewsy." Rock sneered, "Why don't you just let him have his fun?"

"It was about the lost civilization of Amity Square. It seemed that they had thrived as a tribe thousands of years ago…and then, all of a sudden, they just disappeared. No archaeologists could find any trace of them, until they continued a much broader search. Miraculously they found evidence of the same tribe in three completely separate areas at exactly the same time as the tribe had disappeared from the Square. But what caught Noir's attention was not the strange separation—but where they separated to. You see, Drew, the tribe magically appeared in the three lake-towns: Twinleaf, Sunyshore, and Snowpoint."

A sudden pain sliced through Drew's mind, he tried to push it aside—now was not the time to break the wall. As the pain left him, a new voice echoed around the cavern: one he did not want to hear.

"Ah, are we in the middle of a story? You're getting to my _favorite_ part, Blade." Noir said smoothly as he strolled out of the shadows. Drew then realized that he must have been exploring the labyrinth.

"Noir, back from your stroll I see."

"Oh yes, it was lovely." He answered Blade. Drew hated how bitter-sweet their conversations were. If Blade sickened him—Noir made him want to hurl.

"May I continue? I do so love this part."

"Be my guest, you are the boss after all."

"Hello Drew. Very nice to see you. How's your little girlfriend?" Drew snarled.

"_**Don't let him get to you. Remember: he doesn't know that May's here."**_ Drew nearly jumped, he'd forgotten that Uxie and Mesprit were still there…observing. It was then that he wondered how Uxie had known about May.

_*We are actually very knowledgeable, you know._* Mesprit cut in, _*Like, for instance, we also know that she and Azelf are both watching the events in this room. Oh, and that you might want to pay attention because Blade's about to—*_ But before she could finish, Drew felt a sharp pain on his cheek: he'd been slapped again.

"Are you even _listening_ to him, boy?" Blade hissed. Drew blinked.

"Sorry, I got bored of your uninteresting conversation about strolls. What were you saying, Noir?" at this, the man laughed.

"You have a sharp tongue, boy. I've always liked that about you. However, seeing as how that was insulting, I would suggest you not push it. Blade has a quick hand as your face has already seen…twice, I believe?"

"Whatever. You should continue now, before I get bored again." At this, Blade raised his hand again. But Noir stopped him.

"Come, come now, Blade. Don't be so rash. As I was saying, Drew, I came across the most interesting of legends. But it wasn't until I spoke to some of the residents of Sunyshore that I heard it. Would you like to know what it was about?"

"Why not?" Drew asked, irritated with all the questions.

"Well, my boy. It was about—you." Drew's eyes widened, but he said nothing. "It's no fun," Noir continued, "when you don't even remember yourself, but perhaps I'll jog your memory. It seemed that the lake pokemon had given the tribe emotion, willpower, and knowledge: three very important things to an individual. But something else that they gave the humans was protection, in exchange for their own protection. The whole thing seemed strange to me, the pokemon gave so much, and the humans gave so little. But, then again, if the pact was neglected, the humans had to pay a much bigger price: all the gifts the lake pokemon had given them." Noir paused, but Drew remained silent. Noir sighed.

"You haven't figured it out, yet? Fine. Anyways, I came up with the most brilliant plan. If I could find descendants of the tribe that still had the pact running through their veins, I could use it to my advantage. And that, my boy, is where the two of you," he gestured to Drew and Leah, "come in. You see, in many more years of searching I finally tracked down the last remaining descendants: you two. Such a sad thing, the people of Sinnoh seem to have forgotten their past promises, but what can you do? So, continuing on, I thought that if I could erase your memories so that you neglected your duties, your gifts would be stripped and I could use you to do my bidding. It was a good plan, if I do say so myself. Except, one little flaw that, not even I, could have seen. It seems, that the pact can only be broken one way: an individual must willingly, knowingly, and want with all their heart to break the pact."

"You see the predicament, Drew. The pact is fool proof, nobody in their right mind would _want_ to break it, would _willingly_ do so, and would _knowingly_ give up their individuality. The clever little devils made it so that intelligent people—such as myself—could not do exactly what I spent so many years trying to do! And so, I decided to end my pointless waiting and observing and move on to plan B. And so finally, Drew, we get to this lovely little contraption. It's my own little loophole, you see, because it doesn't matter whether you have the pact or don't have it—it forcefully takes away your emotion, willpower, and knowledge either way! And allow me to demonstrate to you, my little friend, just how quickly it can destroy, even _your_ individuality!" At this Noir smashed his fist onto a button on the machine. Sparks began flying, light began to generate in the large orb above. Mesprit and Uxie cried out in pain as electricity was sent through them. Drew was too shocked to move, to speak. Blade and Rock were cackling around him.

"First to go is knowledge, I think." Noir said and before Drew could react a golden beam of light shot at him from the orb. Uxie cried out and Drew was slammed into the wall. May suppressed a scream. The beam shot back to Uxie, it looked as if he absorbed it. When it was over, Drew's gaze turned over to May, when he saw her he blinked. His gaze was blank; May felt a chill run down her spine. But then, she noticed that his face looked…mournful.

"Next to go is emotion!" Noir cut in. Another beam of light, this one red, shot out at Drew.

_*NO! I DON'T WANT IT!*_

But, not even Mesprit could stop it. The mournful look on Drew's face disappeared into red light. When the beam shot back to Mesprit, May felt her heart sink.

"Now, my friend, do tell." Noir said, "Where is the being of willpower?"


	26. Justice

_**Chapter Twenty Six: Justice**_

May was frozen, still not wanting to believe what she had seen—what she was seeing now. She felt as if someone had knocked the wind out of her. The whole world felt as if it was crashing down on her.

They were too late.

"_No, May, we are not."_ May jumped, she kept forgetting Azelf's little way of getting into her thoughts. _"Listen to me, and listen very carefully. Drew is no longer our main priority. If you wish to save him, you must first save Uxie and Mesprit. Only they can return what has been taken from him—you understand?"_ May nodded, a small sense of hope rising within her.

"But, how do we do that?" she whispered. Azelf turned to look her in the eye.

"_All I need is a distraction."_

"Well?" Noir had moved to stand in front of Drew now. Blade had already unchained him, but he hadn't moved from his spot by the wall. His blank stare turned to Noir.

"Being of willpower?"

"Yes, you fool, that's the one. Where is he?"

"The one you speak of…he's—" But before Drew could continue a loud roar crashed around them. The floor shook everyone to the ground. Two large vines came out of nowhere and grabbed Rock and Blade. The roar sounded around them again.

"What in the name of…" Noir started, but his voice was drowned out by the echoing roar. Then, out of the shadows, came the source of it all. A very large, very angry, Venisaur. It let out another roar and smashed its two captives into the ground, which began to tremble yet again and would have knocked Noir back down if he had already stood up again. For a moment he did nothing, too shocked to think. Then, common sense came to him.

"A Venisaur in an underwater cavern?" he sneered, "Roar, Mightyena."

At his command, the two dark dog pokemon let out a roar that rivaled Venisaur's. At this, the large grass-type turned to red light and disappeared, dropping Blade and Rock to the ground. The two admins grunted as they reached the ground.

"Clever. You actually caught us off guard." Noir said. May glared, she officially hated this man.

"Oh, Drew." He continued, "Would you be so kind as to go get her for me?" And before May could even blink, Drew stood in front of her. She looked at him, but she barely recognized him. She felt as if her heart had been ripped away. He grabbed her by the shoulders—so hard that it actually hurt.

"_May, listen."_ Azelf said from…wherever he was, _"Drew still has his own free will and should be regaining knowledge…now."_

At Azelf's words, May saw a golden light flash in Drew's eyes. He blinked, they were no longer dull at least.

"_My point is, if you can convince him that listening to them works to his disadvantage, he may listen." _May internally nodded. She realized that Drew had started to carry her over to Noir.

"Drew, please, look at what you're doing. They're trying to take away your free will, trying to tell you what to do, and you're just going to do what they say?" Drew turned his gaze to her, he squinted his eyes, as if pondering what she was saying.

"Give it up girl." Noir cut in, "He doesn't care for you and he can't think for himself. Why would he ever listen to _you_?" Noir laughed, as if laughing at his own joke. Drew halted, staring at him. He looked from May to Noir and back again, as if not sure what to do.

"Drew, think about who we're talking about. This is _Noir_, the one who took your life from you. The one who has been lying to you since you were a young boy. Please Drew, don't listen to him." May begged. He stared at her for a moment, and then Noir sighed.

"Bored now. Here, let's make it more interesting." He threw something over to Drew who instinctively caught it. May's eyes widened: it was a knife.

"Kill her." May felt panic rush within her, if Drew didn't care about her…would he do it? It was Blade who spoke next.

"Noir! The pokemon are escaping!" Noir whipped his head around to look at his machine. Sure enough, Mesprit winked and disappeared. His face began to redden with rage.

"MIGHTYENA! ATTACK!" he cried. But instead of pointing at where the lake pokemon had been not long ago, he was pointing at May and Drew. May looked around her, there was a Mightyena on each side of them and Drew still had her in an iron grip. One of them snarled and lunged, its eyes filled with bloodlust. May screamed, she closed her eyes, could feel the claws ripping through her before they even reached her. But instead she heard a howl of pain. Her eyes snapped open. Mightyena was on the ground, shaking its head, Drew stood in front of her, glaring at the pokemon.

"You good for nothing mutt!" he shouted at the Mightyena. May blinked, he was…angry. At this, he turned to the second Mightyena who sprung at him. He grabbed it by the scruff as it landed on him. He was in the middle of slamming it to the ground when May saw it bite down on his shoulder. A look of pain flashed across Drew's face just before he threw Mightyena down. He gave the first one another death look and it remained still, whimpering as if afraid of him. He then looked down at the one in front of him who was apparently much more aggressive. It growled and snarled at him as it got back on its feet. It then dashed forward so quickly that it disappeared for a moment; it reappeared behind Drew and slashed his back. He cried out and fell to his knees.

"_You're going to pay for that!"_ May heard Azelf cry. Then, the Mightyena was surrounded in a blue light and thrown to the wall, the ceiling, and down to the floor—defeated. A blue shield appeared around May and Drew. Between them, a figure shimmered and then became fully visible. Azelf, no longer disguised, hovered in the center.

"_I'm not going to repeat my last mistake. Always protect from all angles."_ He said. May wasn't sure what he meant by that, but she could see that the shield surrounded them like a dome. Then, her gaze turned to the area where Leah had been unconscious all this time. A red shield incased her. Mesprit winked at May, who then looked at Noir. He looked around as if unsure what to do. A figure shimmered before him. Uxie hovered in front of him, smiling.

"_**Now, I want to take a look at you Noir. I haven't taken a good look at anyone for many years."**_ Uxie's eyelids, which always remained shut, slowly fluttered open. Noir's eyes widened, what he saw May would never know. But they remained wide. He stood there in a stupor. Uxie had apparently shut his eyes again because he turned and they were shut. He then disappeared and reappeared in front of Blade. Then Rock. And soon all three of them stood in their own stupors.

"_**I've never really liked my special ability. But I guess if anyone deserves to be brainwashed it would be these three. Honestly, Azelf, how did you ever put up with them for so long?"**_

"_I didn't."_

_*Hm…Leah seems to be fine, as I expected. Just out cold…poor thing. How's Drew? He doesn't look so good from over here.*_ May began to crawl over to him when a voice stopped her: one she would have liked to have heard hours ago.

"NOBODY MOVE! WE HAVE THE PLACE SURROUNDED!"

Officer Jenny.


	27. Sunset

_**Chapter Twenty Seven: Sunset **_

_A young boy walked along the bank of the lake. A woman, his mother, walked behind him. She felt uneasy, as if she was being watched. The boy splashed around at the edge of the water, giggling, naïve of the danger to come. The woman froze, she had definitely heard something. She knew it in her heart:_

_They were being followed._

"_Drew…remember what I told you yesterday?" she asked. The young boy turned to her._

"_You said a lot of things yesterday, Mommy." He said, "Which one are you talking about?"_

"_That if you're ever in trouble, to call upon the lake pokemon and that they would help you?" At this, the boy smiled._

"_Of course I remember, Mommy. You've been saying that a lot lately." Suddenly, a low snarl could be heard from behind them. The woman whipped around and came face to face with a Houndoom. It looked ready to lunge._

"_Drew, RUN!" she cried, shoving her son forward. Terrified, the boy ran. His mother called to him, urging him on, telling him never to look back. Remembering the previous conversation, he shouted for Azelf. He kept running and running, never looking back. He shouted for Azelf again before tripping on—who knows what. It was only then that he realized he was alone. A howl sounded from behind him._

_Ok, so maybe not _entirely_ alone. _

_He turned around, terror causing him to freeze to the spot where he sat. As he gazed out behind him, all he could see was a burning forest. From out of the fire, the Houndoom leaped, its gaze locked on the young boy. But just before it reached him, a large blue shield appeared before him. The fire type crashed into it, flying backward and hitting the ground with a soft 'thud.' Relief washed over him as he recognized the Riolu in front of him._

_Azelf had come to save him._

_The small pokemon turned to look at him. The boy was just smiling at him, when a pair of strong arms wrenched him backward from his spot. "Riolu" shrieked as the boy felt a cold metal object being placed on his head._

"_Gotcha! You little RAT!" a voice snarled, one that was foreign at the time but that he recognized all too well now._

_It was then that his mind had gone blank._

_

* * *

_

The sun was setting over Sinnoh. The large orange orb looked as if it was sinking into the ocean. A light breeze caressed her face, blowing any loose strands of hair from her eyes. May stood on the solar-panel-walkway of Sunyshore, leaning forward against the railing. The city was quiet now; barely anyone seemed to be walking about. She gazed out at the horizon, feeling as if the sun was copying her heart. Sinking…sinking…sinking… She didn't want to go back there, not now. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. Tears began to well in her eyes. She couldn't bear…to see him like that again.

**~Flashback~**

"_Drew!" May cried. He lay motionless on the ground in front of her. She shook him, trying desperately to wake him up, but she made sure not to touch the shoulder where Mightyena had bitten him or his back. _

"_Drew, you have to wake up. Please, Drew…" But nothing she said would stir him. He wouldn't respond to her. Both fear and sorrow filled May's heart. He had to be ok…he had to be._

"_May, I need to get him on to the stretcher now." Nurse Joy whispered as she appeared next to her. Chansey was there in an instant, stretcher in hand. May watched as Joy and Chansey lifted Drew from the ground. As they laid him on said stretcher she noticed his eyes flutter open. His gaze met hers and they flashed with recognition. And then, he did the unexpected._

_He smiled._

_It was a weak smile, not much of something to bring a sense of hope. But it was a smile. Half of May wanted to cry for joy, the fact that he was smiling meant he was back to his normal self. The other half wanted to cry for sadness, after all he'd been through…all he'd been forced to endure…even through the excruciating pain he must have been feeling at the time…how could he be smiling? How was it that the idiot could be smiling at her? It didn't matter in the end, really, why it was May cried. All she could remember were the tears in her eyes…and wishing she could wake up and have it all be some sick and twisted dream._

_But however sick and twisted it may have been…it wasn't a dream._

_**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**  
_

_She was in the waiting room, sitting…waiting…hoping. Drew and Leah had both been rushed off to the Sunyshore hospital. May went with them; Nurse Joy had wanted to check on her. She would normally have protested, insisting that nothing had happened to her and that she was fine. But the thought of leaving Drew held her tongue. Her friends, Joy had told her, were at the police station. Sophie was apparently giving information on Roahn. May felt a small smile creep across her face as she remembered how Jenny had led Noir and his admins away in handcuffs. That would be a scene she'd never forget._

"_May?" Joy's voice interrupted her thoughts. Immediately she went into worry-mode._

"_Nothing's wrong, right? He's ok, right?" the words stumbled out of her mouth so quickly she wondered how the poor nurse could understand her. She wasn't worried for Leah now; she hadn't been hurt other than being knocked out. But Drew…was another story._

"_He'll be fine." Joy soothed. She smiled at May, "you can go see him now, if you like. But he may not wake up for a while." Drew had been out of it the whole way there. May was never really sure if he'd known she was there with him. The first thing Joy had done when they reached the hospital had been to knock him out—in a much nicer way than Roahn had done to Leah, of course, which involved medicine and not an iron fist. May stood up and followed Joy through a set of double-doors and down a hall. The nurse led her around a corner and to a door labeled: 207._

"_This is his room. Call me if you need anything." And with that, she turned and left. May turned to the door and slowly opened it. The first thing she noticed was the soft beeping of a heart monitor which didn't surprise her: he'd been in pretty bad shape. She softly shut the door behind her and walked over to his bed. Nurse Joy was right, he was out. There was an oxygen tube wrapped around his face, helping him to breathe through his nose. An IV was hooked to his right arm. He was pale, and every once in a while he would shiver. May sighed; she never wanted to see him like this. She slowly sat on the edge of his bed and looked down at his face. He looked…so peaceful…and yet…so frail. She brushed the bangs out of his face. A lump started to form in her throat when she remembered that usually he would flip them away from his eyes._

"_Drew…I wish you'd wake up…" she said softly. She wanted so badly for him to open his eyes, smile at her and tell her that everything was alright. But the only response was the soft beeping of the monitor next to her._

"_Why, Drew? Why would you do that, it was so stupid." May whispered, not expecting an answer. She sighed, wishing one would come. She stood up, about to go sit in the couch by the only window in the room. But a voice stopped her._

"_May…" she froze. It had been soft, but she'd heard it. She was sure of it. She turned to Drew, his eyes were barely open._

"_May…is that you…?" he asked. _

"_I'm here Drew…" May said, sitting back down on the bed. She laid her hand on his and he blinked. Silence followed, until finally he spoke again._

"_What…what happened?" he asked._

"_Well, what's the last thing you remember?" May asked. He looked as if he were pondering his answer when suddenly, his eyes widened._

"_May…I remember…everything." He said. He tried to sit up and before May could stop him, a flash of pain flew across his face. May pushed him back down. He cringed as he hit the bed._

"_You're still healing, you know." May said, "You can't just move so suddenly like that with a ripped up back." He nodded._

"_I guess I don't remember…_everything_." He said through gritted teeth. His eyes shot open again. "But it's gone, May. The wall's gone. I have everything again. I remember the long walks from lake to lake, playing with Leah—who I remember is my cousin, by the way. I remember training Budew and playing with Azelf and Uxie and Mesprit. I remember walks in Amity Square. I remember the day my Aunt gave Leah her locket, my mother's face, all the advice she would give me, the stories she would tell…" For a moment, Drew looked happy, as he recalled so many fond memories. Then, his eyes closed and he frowned._

"_I remember the day Leah disappeared. When my mother lost contact with my Aunt. The day Mesprit discovered the bush where Leah had last been. I remember the fear of disappearing myself…hiding it from my mother…knowing she was scared too. I remember…I remember…" Drew clenched his fist. May wasn't sure what to say. She was trying to think of something when he continued._

"_I remember what happened that day at Lake Valor…when Roahn came for me… May… It was Blade…" When he looked up at her, May realized that he looked broken. She'd never seen him this sad, never _wanted_ to see him this sad. _

"_Blade…" he continued, "he…he killed my mother…and__…__he took everything away from me…"_

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around her, she felt a head on her shoulder. May immediately snapped out of her trance, realizing that the sun was just disappearing now. She was about to slap, whoever it was, in the face when a voice stopped her.

"I'm sorry." May froze. Drew hadn't woken up again since the first time. It had been several days since she'd heard his voice. Nurse Joy had told her that he was healing nicely and needed his rest anyway, but she'd still been worried. She hadn't expected to hear from him just then…

"I know how worried you were, May. But it's ok, I'm awake now." She turned to look at him. He still looked a little pale. His emerald eyes sparkled in what remained of the afternoon sun. He wore a white t-shirt she guessed Nurse Joy had given him—seeing as how Mightyena had destroyed the black and purple shirts he'd been wearing. He had his jeans back, and his shoes. He was about to say something else when she turned and buried her face into his chest. She could hear his heart beating and felt how warm he was now, versus how cold he'd been a few days earlier. She felt his arms wrap around her again. For the first time in what seemed like forever, she felt safe…content. The stress seemed to evaporate, as if it had never existed.

"I was scared I'd lost you…" she whispered. She turned her gaze up and into his eyes. "Drew…I…I could never…" A wave of tears drowned out her words. She buried her face in his chest again. She sobbed the tears she'd been holding back for several days…too many days. He held her close, cradled her, trying to calm her.

"You haven't lost me May…" he whispered, "I'm here now…its ok."

The sun sank lower, and lower, until finally it disappeared over the horizon.

* * *

**A/N: **And...fin? Hm, maybe not ;)

Review!


	28. Epilogue

_**Epilogue **_

_*Have they reached you yet?* _

"_**No, not yet. But they're in Snowpoint at least; I think there's a contest or something."**_

"_Good. Drew could use another contest—one where the possibility of it burning to the ground isn't an issue."_

_*Yes…they finished the contest hall in Hearthome, correct?*_

"_Of course. It's even more magnificent than before!"_

"_**Well, that's good: a happy ending, at least."**_

"_Yes… Rock…he's so irritating."_

_*_Was_ so irritating. Now he's a vegetable.*_

The three of them laughed. Uxie hated to use his talent, but for Roahn he could make an exception.

"_**How about Sophie? Is she still with them?"**_

"_No, she left with Max and the others a few days ago. Going to explore the world for the first time. I'm so happy for her."_

_*Yeah…aren't we all? The poor girl's been wanting to get out of Sinnoh for years.*_

"_**Do you think Leah's in the contest? Or just watching?"**_

_*Why does it matter?*_

"_**I was thinking about joining her if she was watching."**_

"_Better cloak yourself if you do that."_

"_**This may come as a surprise to you, Azelf, but Mesprit and I don't need to be reminded. We can't disguise ourselves as you can."**_

"_Oh…right. Sorry for that."_

_*Don't worry, we're used to it. It's not like you've been reminded us when we haven't needed it for several thousand years.*_

"_Oh shut up."_

_*Now that's not a way to speak to a lady!* _Mesprit giggled, deeply enjoying teasing Azelf. Azelf smiled.

"_Right…lady. Sorry, I guess Uxie and I are just so used to being guys that I forget sometimes that you're a girl." _At that he felt Mesprit internally slap him. Uxie was laughing his head off.

"_**Alright…let's…try…to be nice!"**_ he tried to say between cackles. Mesprit internally slapped him as well.

_*Boys…*_

"_Are cool!"_

_*Whatever…Hey, Uxie, where are you going?* _Azelf, too, felt Uxie's presence shifting places.

"_**The contest (don't worry Azelf, I'm invisible). Whoa! I wish you two could see **_**this**_**! Drew and May are battling! Pretty 50-50 if you ask me."**_

"_Seen it. I know."_

_*Wow, really? Good for Drew! I always knew he'd be a good coordinator! I can't wait for the contest in Oreburg!*_

"_That's pretty far away, are you sure you should be leaving the lake for that?"_

_*Come on, Azelf. There's never going to be a contest in _Twinleaf_! And besides, you were away from your precious lake for…hm…ten years? Eleven maybe?*_

"_That's different…"_

"_**Wow! May won!"**_

"_Good for her. Now they each have a ribbon."_

_*Poor Drew, oh well. I'm happy for May.*_

"_**Wow…this is so **_**cool**_**! Why didn't either of you tell me how cool contests are?"**_

_*How long have they been around? Couldn't be very long.*_

"_Eh, who's counting?"_

"_**Seriously? I love this! Oh, Leah says 'hi.'"**_

"_Hi Leah."_

_*Leah! Yay! I miss her. Tell her they need to get over here soon!*_

"_**Hey, they haven't even visited **_**me**_** yet!"**_

"_Will you two stop arguing, they'll get to you eventually."_

_*Who are you to talk? You've been with them for years! We haven't seen either of them since they were little!*_

"_Not true, you just saw them here."_

_*Oh, you know what I mean! I miss them. And I'd rather spend time with Drew and Leah who have their full memories than Drew and Leah who take five minutes to remember my name!*_

"_**You might as will give in, Azelf. She's gone into 'get-between-me-and-seeing-my-human-friends-and-I-kill-you mode.'"**_

"_Ok, fine. I'll admit you guys haven't seen them in a long time."_

_*No we haven't! What's happening now, Uxie?*_

"_**I don't know, the contest is over and they went to bed. They said they'd see me tomorrow but for the moment I'm alone in my lake."**_

_*Oh…ok.* _she sighed, _*I guess we should get some rest as well.*_

"_Probably a wise decision."_

_*Alright, goodnight boys.*_ and with that, Mesprit's presence disappeared.

"_**Well, talk to you later, Azelf. I'm tired…"**_

"_Alright, Uxie. Have a nice rest."_ And with that, Uxie disappeared as well. Azelf blinked open his eyes. The shield he'd surrounded himself with shimmered away. He was alone in his cavern. He stretched.

"_Home sweet home." _ As he looked around the place, he sighed._ "I'm not even ready for sleep yet…" _Then an idea hit him. It was harder to do with just himself, but he thought he could manage. He shut his eyes and searched for each of them. He found May first.

"_Now…let's have some fun, shall we?"_

_

* * *

_

May sighed, she was stretched out in the middle of a meadow watching the clouds roll by. She shut her eyes, feeling the sun's rays warm her skin. A soft rustle came from her left. She turned her dreamy gaze over to the sound.

"Well hello there."

May screamed and nearly jumped out of her skin.

"DREW! What was that for?"

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Sneaking up on me like that! You weren't here a few seconds ago!"

"I didn't sneak up on you, May. I just appeared here." It was then that May remembered she was dreaming. A snicker echoed around her. She knew that voice anywhere:

Azelf.

"Fine, I forgive you. Seeing as it was _someone_," she paused and gave the sky an irritated look, "else's fault."

"May, I'm a little worried about you. Why are you glaring at the sky?" Drew mocked. May turned her glare to him, she felt like hitting him.

"Drew…" she growled. He smirked.

"Hey, don't blame me if you're crazy." He said as he flipped his hair. May blinked, she stared at him for a while. She hadn't realized until now how…normal he seemed. He was back to being the cocky and irritating jerk that he usually was.

"I'm not crazy _Drew_." She hissed. He turned to look at her and smiled.

"Come on, May, I was only kidding." He said softly. She smiled sheepishly, mentally slapping herself for almost forgetting how he wasn't really as much of a jerk as she had first believed. He abruptly turned his gaze to the clouds.

"Do you ever wonder how it is that clouds can look so much like objects down here on earth? I think it's just the work of an over-active imagination." He said.

"Well I think that's the point, Drew." May answered.

"But what if it's actually the work of psychic pokemon, trying to trick all of us ignorant humans into thinking that they really have such amazing imaginations when in truth, even a Magikarp could see that the cloud is literally shaped like the object in mind?" he asked, turning to look at her as if expecting an answer. May stared at him, not so sure what to say to that. Finally, she laughed.

"Drew, I believe you're over-thinking it."

"No, really. I think it's a reasonable question." May laughed some more, she turned to him and her laughter faltered. He was gazing at her with such gentle eyes. He hadn't ever looked at her that way before. She felt her face start to burn.

"What?" she asked. He didn't answer her, he just smiled.

"Drew, seriously. If you have something to say you should just—" but she was cut off as his lips met hers. Her eyes widened, she hadn't expected that… But soon, she closed them.

She was happy. He was happy.

Azelf smiled: his work here was done.


End file.
